A Nightmare's Armistice
by KaleidoscopeKitten
Summary: Aang's fears that he is not ready for what awaits leads to nightmares, which he must face. But he's not alone, and sometimes the one who can be of the most help is not the one who would choose to offer it.
1. Prologue

_This story takes place during the Book of Water season, some time after the Winter Solstice-_

As summer draws near, Aang's mounting fear that he will not be ready for what lies ahead leads to some disturbing nightmares. How will he find the courage within himself to erase his insecurities and face the inevitable?

Sometimes the one who can be of the most help is not the one who would choose to offer it.

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**Disclaimer**: I don't own Avatar: TLA or any of the corresponding merchandise. Please don't sue! You'll get naught but the pickled eggs I hid under the sink.

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**A Nightmare's Armistice: **By KaleidoscopeKitten

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**Prologue  
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_"Our Remedies oft in_

_ourselves do lie,_

_which we ascribe to Heaven"_

--Shakespeare

All's Well That Ends Well

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Below him the ground melted into green and brown liquid, blurring into the burnt horizon. Billows of dark fumes erupted from the structures beneath, adding violent pumes of color to the wind as he glided past.

He could feel the heat of the flames despite his altitude. He squinted as a trickle of sweat slid into his eye, and blinked hard to refocus. He choked on the gritty consistency of the air. The taste of ashes filled his throat and he gagged.

Not willing to relinquish his grasp on the glider long enough to wipe his eyes, he let them stream down his face until the wind whipped the droplets away. It made seeing where he was going nearly impossible, but given the circumstances he deemed it to be a good thing.

Through hazy eyes the town looked distant, murky. The outlines of the buildings were soft, the trees gray smudges rather than stark, dead skeletons scratching at the air. The flames licking the streets were merely an orange blankets tossed haphazardly about.

It could have just been a watercolor painting...

If not for the harsh smoke now clotting the air.

This time he coughed up black spittle, feeling his nostrils clogging with soot. He looked around frantically. Searching for some place, _any_ place to be free of the smoke. But the horizon was bleak for miles, the sky a dusky red orange mottled with clouds. Not rain clouds.

_Oh, why couldn't this be a dream?_

He wanted to wake up and see the sky blue. The grass uncharred.A soft, clear breeze whispering through the trees.

_Sokka and Katara would be sitting nearby._

_They would be talking and laughing. They were so happy, and they were looking at him. Then Katara would stand up and walk over to him. She would plop down beside him with a hand on his shoulder. He could see the sunlight spilling into her striking blue eyes._

_She was telling him something. Motioning with her hands and smiling. Pointing to the sky and..._

_...and screaming_?

"Katara!"

The abrupt shriek brought him to a wincing halt as he reeled around, faltering in midair. He quickly caught himself, using an air current to boost himself into the air once more. _Katara._ He scanned the ground for his friend closely. _Was Sokka with her_? He could feel his pulse quickening, his arms weakening with dread.

No sign of her.

_Please...Please scream again!_ He forced his eyes to focus.

_Please..._

The moments dragged by like hours. He barely dared to breathe, straining his ears against the hissing of the wind.

_Please let me find her!_ he pleaded, although he knew not to who, or if such things even helped. He felt heavy enough to leave a crater in the crisp earth if he crashed.

"HELP!"

Blood pounding at his temples, he swooped downward, picking up tremendous speed. Eyes narrowed, he focused on a blur of movement.

"Katara!"

Within seconds he reached the hunched form. He could feel his heart sink as he landed and walked over to her. He knelt beside her, trying to hide the raw emotions he knew must have been playing across his features. Silently, he put his arms around her shoulders. She looked up at him briefly before returning the embrace, face pressed tightly to his shirt.

"Are you alright?"

He patted her on the back, trying to comfort her and ease her silent shaking. Whether it was due to fear or sorrow, he couldn't tell.

_I know how you feel_, he thought, brushing the hair out of her face and wiping off the soot. He could feel hot tears soaking his own cheeks.

It wasn't Katara.

Sniffing, she looked up at him again.

"I can't find my...my mom..."

She couldn't have been older than eight or nine. He rubbed her back and tried to smile encouragingly.

"We'll find her."

For a moment she stared at him, curiosity overriding the despair in her features. His voice was gentle and reassuring, but he looked to be in no better shape than her. Dirty and crying, he looked more like he was in need of help. Not someone who could offer promises.

But with the unbiased heart of a child, she believed him.

Nodding, she wiped a sleeve across his eyes with a shy smile and didn't flinch as he grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet. They scanned the surrounding houses silently. There weren't any active flames too close to where they stood, but the scarred soil told of its passing. Burnt sticks and shattered glass lay in clumps in the street. There was no movement for some distance, except the shadows playing across the walls of ravaged dwellings.

She leaned against his side, eyes red rimmed and restless, but silent. She was not even sniffling now, but appeared to be focusing all of her attention on discerning rubble from possible family member. Her grip on his hand was fierce but warm.

"Don't worry," he heard himself say, feeling the sharp stab of guilt penetrate his thoughts.

_This is all my fault..._

Crick!

The sound of splintering glass reached his ears and he spun around slowly.

"Mom?"

The little girl bolted in the direction of the noise where a shadow emerged from behind what looked to have once been a shed.

The tiny smile that had found its way to her face vanished, however, when the figure stepped out of the darkness. Her gasp was audible despite the distance. Sinking to the ground, she quickly wrapped her arms around her knees, burying her face.

The figure stopped a few feet from her trembling form and peered down at her with an unreadable expression.

It was by no means the child's mother, and even without motion, this person possessed the stance of a warrior.

"Zuko!"

The figure looked up. Locking eyes with his opponent, a scowl crossed his lips.

"Avatar."

"You did this!" Anger danced behind the airbender's eyes as he confronted the prince of the fire nation. Cold fury blazed within him as he glared at the taller boy. "How could you!"

Zuko remained silent but returned the glare. He was wearing his usual outfit consisting of fire nation armor, with the exception of a helmet. The grey and red tones blended in smoothly with the atmosphere.

"All this..." The younger boy swept a hand at their surroundings, "All this destruction and pain and..." he choked on the words as visions of the decimated town flashed before his eyes.

"All this...because of...me?"

"I will do whatever is necessary to capture you," came the bland reply.

He could feel his grey eyes squeezing shut even as he told himself to open them, _open them_! He wanted to hold onto the anger and disgust. Wanted to amplify it, send a current of hatred at his opponent. But to his dismay, all he could feel was it slipping away. _Why? Why was this hapening?_

He let out a ragged sob as he sagged to the ground.

_Because of him._

_It was all his fault._

_And he couldn't do anything to stop it._

"You really don't expect me to fall for that, do you?"

The avatar lifted his gaze from the ground momentarily.

Zuko was standing over him, amber eyes blazing. The younger boy could see the threads of fire flickering from his fists. Up close, fury was plain on his face, and his shoulders shook as though he was trying to contain the fire within his arms.

A few feet away, the little girl had raised her head and was watching them from where she sat, rocking and wide eyed.

"Stand up."

He ignored the order, and glanced beyond the firebender in front of him. He could see the little girl clearly, motioning for him to rise.The forlorn, pleading look on her face brought another wave of anguish to the airbender.

"I never wanted this..."

He thought of the air temple. _Ravaged. Deserted._

"Stop crying and get up!"

_Katara._

_Sokka._

He felt his arm wrenched from his side and twisted behind his back. He could see the red ties of the prince's black boots as he was pulled to his feet.

"You're coming with me, Avatar."

The voice was beside his ear, and he shrank away from the slight heat of the breath on his neck.

The ground was colorless. He stumbled in the direction he was being pushed.

"Noo!" The small voice echoed in his ears. He felt a jolt as something rammed into his captor, and looked over his shoulder.

"Let him go!" The little girl screamed, yanking on Zuko's arm. Futilely, she continued, alternating between tugging and kicking at his legs.

The prince scowled, but otherwise ignored her and kept walking, not even breaking his stride.

The captive boy watched her over his shoulder. He couldn't make out what she was saying. She twisted furiously at the arm which grasped his wrists. He could see her mouth moving. Tendrils of brown hair splayed out in the thick air. The soot ran in streaks down her face, pooled at her mouth.

Suddenly, there was no noise at all.

He couldn't even hear his own footfalls. The wind had died.

_Why couldn't he hear anything?_

Without warning, he pitched forward. He could feel his enemy tumble over him, and came down upon the ground roughly. He could taste dirt and metal and knew he had bitten his lip as he attempted to dislodge muck from his teeth.

His toe began to twinge and he realized dimly that he had merely tripped. Coughing, he struggled to sit up without the help of his hands. Beside him the prince got to his own knees and glowered at his charge.

He looked around for the little girl.

She knelt beside him and flung her arms around his neck. He could see her face clearly despite the haze hovering on everything else. Her eyes were as green and vivid as new leaves budding on a dormant tree.

She was looking right at him, straight into his eyes.

She smiled and said something.

Zuko looked at her, from where he knelt.

_Could he hear her?_

_What was she saying?_

She was still looking into his eyes. A single tear spilled from her left eye. She spoke again.

And he heard her.

"Aang."

Shocked, he backed away a little. "What?" he inquired. _How did she know his name?_

"Aang!" She looked worried now. Concerned. Shadows played across her brow in unease.

She put her hands on his shoulders and shook them slightly. She continued peering intensely at him. Zuko was looking at him now, too. He crossed his arms, looking confused.

_He_ was confused.

"Aang!"

_What was going on?_

She was shaking his shoulders harder.

They both leaned over him.

He looked back and forth from her worried face to Zuko's inquisitous one. They leaned in closer and their faces began to blur with the surroundings.

_Why couldn't he...see?_

"Aang!"

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"Aang!"

Katara shook the airbender once more. A look of relief crossed her features as his eyes opened slowly, struggling to focus on her face. He seemed to be trying to figure out who they were.

"Easy, Katara. You'll shake his brain lose or something."

Sokka peered down at the pale boy, finding himself highly curious. _What had he been dreaming about?_ The twelve year old's cryptic words still rebounded dimly in his head.

_It's all my fault..._

With a jolt, Aang sat upright, causing the rolled blanket his head had been resting on to uncurl. He eyed the siblings before him suspiciously for a moment before cautiously asking:

"Guys?"

Before either of them had a chance to respond they found themselves in a bearhug vice. Their necks were protesting painfully by the time he released them.

"What was that for?" Sokka rubbed his throat, backing away slightly.

"Are you alright, Aang?" Katara straightened a strand of hair subconciously, eyeing her friend with concern. "You seemed so upset..." Regretfully, she noticed the sadness had returned to his eyes and mentally chided herself.

Aang folded his arms over his knees and sighed.

"I'm ok. It's not much to talk about." Solemnly, he rested his chin on his arms. But catching her gaze, he grinned.

"Just a bad dream..."


	2. Chapter 1

This story is meant to fit in between the episodes after the Winter Soltice. It won't alter the future actions/thoughts of any of the charcters to the point where they stray from the storyline we all witness. In fact, they'd heatedly deny it ever took place...:cough: Zuko:cough:

Many thanks to my reviewer :)

I updated this much sooner than planned...but the fire ants in the flowerbed were vicious!

:looks sheepishly at her mom:

Meheh...

I think I forgot to ask in the prologue-please let me know what you think Any suggestions, wishes, reviewtreats and flames welcome!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it. Wish I did, but...don't.

**A Nightmare's Armistice:** By KaleidoscopeKitten

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**Chapter 1**

_"Each has his past shut in him_

_like the leaves of a book known to him by heart_

_and his friends can only read the title."_

-Virginia Woolf

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Aang paused by the small stream, pensively gazing into the trickling liquid that blurred his expression. _Funny_, he thought. It almost made him look like he was smiling. Water was like that. Unobtrusive, yet smoothing out his reflection's frown. He knelt down and pulled the stopper off his canteen, feeling it expand as the cool substance filled it. The stuff of illusions. This close, the water no longer masked the grim line of his mouth. He sighed and stood up, recapping the canteen and slinging it over one shoulder.

Katara knelt a few yards down the riverbank, subconciously forming a water stream as she replenished her water skin. Aang watched as the liquid ribbon danced around her arm, spiraling like a fancy bracelet from her wrist to her elbow. He could feel a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and refused to let it slip away. Walking towards his friend, he felt his mood lifting somewhat.

Being around her did that to you.

"Oh, hey Aang." She rose casually, the water worm slipping back into the stream soundlessly. She really was improving, he noted, genuinely happy for her. The water skin hung at her side as she looked at him.

"Are you feeling better?"

Caught off guard, he shifted uneasily under her concerned stare.

"Yeah."

She smiled gently, obviously not satisfied, but didn't prod any further. He could tell she was curious, and only wanted to help in any way she could. He really didn't like keeping things from her, but knew she understood that there were some things you just could't talk about.

"What're you guys doing? It's been more than a few minutes!" Sokka was calling to them from the clearing in the trees, hands at his hips. He was obviously ready to go, impatient to continue their journey. Impatient was his middle name. But, being the only warrior of the group, he deemed it necessary.

Aang and Katara chuckled simultaneously. They deemed it bossy. But it would have been weird if it were different.

"Why, that's only a few minutes longer than the last time we stopped. We must be losing our edge..."Rolling her eyes, Katara padded over to her brother. She boxed his shoulder playfuly as she passed him. "You're slacking on your 'all work and no play' driving duties, oh great, _responsible_ one."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. Considering his sister's words without taking the sarcasm to heart, most likely.

"Maybe I am!" He called after her, then motioned with a thumb over his shoulder for Aang to follow suit.

The airbender began striding towards his friends' retreating backs, feeling his heart lighten somewhat. The sun was slipping down behind the tops of the trees, the sky blushing in vibrant hues of pink and tangerine, shy of the indigo seeping through the clouds. The water glittered where the filtered sunlight played on the surface. It would be dark again soon...

As an after thought, the boy turned back to the stream briefly and stuck out his tongue at the water.

He didn't have anything to worry about.

He had a family after all.

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General Iroh leaned casually over the railing of the ship, thoroughly enjoying the frustrated mutters his nephew was issuing in his direction. He glanced at the boy out of the corner of his eye and nearly burts out laughing at the severity with which he was eyeing the water. He tried to muffle the chuckle with a hand, but wasn't fast enough. With one of his nastier glares, the prince turned to face him.

"You find this amusing, Uncle?" Anyone else probably would have volunteered himself for shark bait. The old man just returned the death stare with a smile.

"Actually...I do."

"This is no laughing matter! You _laugh _at the fact that I cannot seem to capture the Avatar? That he somehow, always manages to elude me!"

"No." _Chuckle_. "I just find the idea that you even _dream_ about him slightly...comical."

Flames erupted from Zuko's hands, but his face was suddenly placid.

"I mean, its common knowlege that tea is the closest thing to the love in my life..." The general snorted in merriment, "But even _I_ don't _dream_ about it!"

"Rrrrrahh!"

A portion of the sea erupted as a fire sphere split its surface violently, spraying the side of the vessel with a fine mist. Iroh watched passively, vaguely hoping that there weren't any creatures near that spot.

"You see? You see why I never tell you anything important!" The teen balled up his fists and stomped across the deck. "You think everything is a joke. You're not _capable_ of being serious!" The few crew members that were standing around jumped out of their leader's way as discreetly as possible. A muted _THUD!_ could be heard from inside the ship as a door was slammed with enough force to make the deck shudder.

As the sun sank into the ocean at the edge of the horizon, the liquid ember reflections on the waves dying, Iroh frowned. He had said the wrong thing, as was common when conversing with his nephew. He wished there was some way to get it across to the prince that he really did care. Heavens, he l_oved_ the boy! But that was not something that could ever soften the need for acceptance that raged within his hot-tempered charge.

Only his brother could apply that bandage.

_And that_, the retired general thought sadly, _would never happen_.

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"Sokka?"

No reply.

Aang scrambled a little closer and poked the water tribe boy's face with the Momo's tail. He got no response, well...no legible response. Carefully, he extricated the sleeping lemur from his arms, placing the creature gently on his friend's lap, and stood up. On the other side of the campfire Katara was as still as her sibling. They were both sleeping soundly, oblivious to the light treading of their friend as he tip-toed away from the camping circle. He looked back once, and seeing the steady rise and fall of each one's breathing a look of solace crossed his face, and he continued on his way.

_I just have to stay awake. That's easy. I'm not even tired at all. Nope. _He winced involuntarily as a shrill call echoed from somewhere in the forest. _Its ok. There's nothing creepy here. It was just a...a bird or something. _He wrapped his arms around himself and tried to grin. _Come on Aang, its not like there's anyone else in the forest_. He eyed the tree he was passing close to suspiciously. Realizing what he was doing, he laughed.

"What's so funny, child?"

"Aaah!" The boy shot into the air instantaneously. Grabbing onto a branch while in mid-air, he glanced frantically around him. No one was in sight.

"Wh...Who's there?" He wasn't positive he wanted to know. He ignored the scratching of the leaves against his cheek and the roughness of the bark that scraped his palms. It was too dark to make out any concise forms around him. _That was a tree wasn't it?_ Hesitantly, he verified that it was in fact a _tree_ that he was clinging to.

A chuckle drifted to his ears and he swung his head around in panic. It sounded so close! A quick scan of his surroundings was fruitless.

_Nothing._ He couldn't see _anything_!

Unsure of what to do and trembling, he squinched his eyes shut painfully.

"What are you afraid of, my boy?"

Aang opened his eyes slowly, not believing his ears.

"G...Gyatso?" He saw nothing, still.

"Yes." The voice was right beside his ear, but the speaker wasn't. Aang released his grip on the branch and drifted to the ground. _This couldn't be happening...Gyatso was dead..._

"Aang."

"Where are you? Gyatso?" The young airbender sat down and held his breath. _What's going on?_

"It's so wonderful to see you, my boy." Aang could almost feel his smile.

"Its wonderful to...hear from you, Gyatso. How...How are you talking to me?"

"Now, now. If I told you that, I wouldn't be able to do it again..." The gentle teasing in the words brought tears to Aang's eyes. If he kept his eyes closed, he could pretend he was back at the temple. Sitting on the banister as he was accustomed, while his beloved mentor mixed lesson with games, lectures with wisecracks.

"I've missed you so much..."

"I know, young one."

"I never meant for it to happen." Tears streamed down the boy's face. Somehow, he knew Gyatso understood what he was talking about.

"It was all for the best, as it turns out" the comforting voice said, "You are needed here. Now. It was meant to be..."

"But I didn't get to say goodbye..."

The voice remained silent for a few minutes. Aang sniffled and wiped a sleeve across his nose.

"Gyatso?"

"I am here, my son. And this time, we may say farewell." The voice was sad yet comforting.

"Wait! I still want to talk to you!" He could feel something giving. The air was...lifting. His eyes sprung open and he jumped up. "Gyatso!"

"Aang. You..."the voice was growing dimmer. Solemnly it continued, "You have made me proud in so many ways. The only thing you still lack is the belief in yourself."

"Please...don't go."

"I'm afraid I must, young one."

"I'm..." the boy could feel his time for expressing what he wished was diminishing, "I'm sorry, Gyatso."

He fell to his knees and focused on the back of his hands, anything to keep him steady. Kind laughter filled his ears.

"Don't be. You shouldn't be. You have much to face, my boy...But you also possess everything you need to face it. You always have..."

It was like smearing salve on a burn. The tears Aang had felt welling up in his eyes spilled, and suddenly there were none to replace them. It felt like a large weight had been lifted off his back, and he started smilingMaybe it was true. Maybe Gyatso was right._ Maybe...maybe there really was nothing to fear._

"Thanks, Gyatso." If Aang could have seen his mentor, he imagined he would have caught a wink on the wise face.

"Farewell, my pupil."

"Goodbye, Gyatso."

A warm breeze drifted by the boy, lingering as if to stroke the side of his face before moving on. A voice chuckled in his head, coinciding with the touch. "_Look to the trees to your left for your next lesson, my son_."

And then he was gone.

Curious, Aang turned his attention to the clump of trees on his left. The moon was all but obscurred behind them. Grinning, he ran as gracefully as one could without being able to see much, toward his destination_. Thanks again, Gyatso_! _He always knew how to raise someone's spirits. _Eager to see what his mentor had in store for him, Aang began plowing through the growth at the base of the trees.

Finding nothing, the airbender looked toward the shrubbery beyond. With hopeful eyes, he crawled further on hands and knees. Everything blended in with its surroundings. He narrowed his eyes as he scanned the dirt.

There!

Something glimmered briefly in the darkness, illuminated by a strand of moonlight. Aang jumped forward and scooped it up all in one motion, then sat rolling it back and forth in his hands. What was it? It felt cold. _Stone or metal._ And it was shaped like..._a cup_? He raised it above his head in an attempt to allow the faint light reveal its obscurity. A look of triumph crossed his face. _Yes. It was a cup! It..._

Wham!

Shocked more than injured, Aang tried to maneuver into a sitting position, but found his face once more slammed into the grass.

"Ha! Caught you..."

The young Avatar knew who it was before the sentence was finished and grimaced as knees dug into his back.

"You won't escape this time, Avatar." Zuko quickly bound the other boys' hands with the length of twine he kept with him at all times, for this purpose. Finished, he stood up, pulling his prisoner to his feet. He bent and picked up the tea cup his uncle had forced him to take that morning, eyeing it suspiciously. He hadn't even noticed it dropped. In front of him, Aang whined.

"Gyatsooo! That was mean..."

"Quiet!" The prince wondered vaguely who Gyatso was, but deemed it unimportant. Not much was important right now. _He had the Avatar!_ With a smirk he pushed Aang ahead roughly. "Move. We're going back to my ship before your idiot friends come looking for you."

_His friends_!

Aang squirmed against the bonds. _How could he have forgotten about them_?

"Don't bother struggling."

"Hmph." The younger boy grumbled, not really paying attention to his captor anymore_. How could Gyatso do that to him?_ What lesson could he possibly hope to learn while in the company of the most short tempered person he had ever met. Well, actually Zhao was a little worse. _Maybe..._

All at once he was frustrated. Irritated. Why did this always happen? Just when he thought things were getting a little bit better, they hit another record low. He didn't have any luck at all, did he? He never even wanted to be the Avatar in the first place! He never wated any of this, he...

Suddenly the images from his last nightmare came rushing back to him. The smoking buildings, the dead trees, the glass in the streets...

_I never wanted any of this..._

The little girl's face came to mind again. She was looking at him with those huge green eyes. He still couldn't read her expression. He wondered what she must have been thinking. There was something about her eyes. Something in them. A knowledge of somesort. What did she know? Was she trying to tell him something? Even Zuko didn't know what she was talking about...

Zuko!

Aang remembered who it was pushing on his shoulders in the darkness and grew angry. The prince wasn't saying anything, probably lost in thoughts of his own. Thoughts of what to do with his captive, thoughts of turning in the prized Avatar to the fire lord, _thoughts of burning down villages_...

"I won't let you!" The younger boy screamed, whirling around on the firebender, who released his grip on the boy's shoulders in surprise. He looked at Aang increduously. Shock turned to anger.

"What are you talking about?" he frowned, as though even conversing with the boy in front of him was distasteful. But there was a strange look in his eyes. Almost like...fear?

"That little girl, all those people...You're a monster!" Drawing in a deep breath, he twisted away from taller boy as he tried to regain his grip. The look on the firebender's face suggested his captive knew something he wasn't supposed to. With everything he could muster, Aang released the air from his mouth, sending the firebender sailing backwards through the woods, slamming into a tree with a crack that echoed in the stillness. Zuko slid to the ground and did not move.


	3. Chapter 2

:blushes:

(To the reviewers) Aww...Thanks.:)

I hope you enjoy this one too.

Please let me know what you think...:wink wink:

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**Disclaimer: **Avatar:TLA doesn't belong to me. If it did I wouldn't have any unpaid bills. XP

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**A Nightmare's Armistice: **By KaleidoscopeKitten

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**Chapter 2**

_Some places speak distinctly. _

_Certain dank gardens cry aloud for a murder; _

_certain old houses demand to be haunted; _

_certain coasts are set apart for shipwrecks. _

_Robert Louis Stevenson_  
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A chill wind whistled between the shadowy limbs of the tall, silent forms looming over the night-darkened figures, one motionless upon the ground and the other in a standstill observance from a few yards away. The upright shape lifted his bound hands to cover his mouth, trembling beneath the veil of leaves overhead. It had nothing to do with the breeze.

Aang stood stock still in silent horror as the realization of what he had just done hit him all at once. The anger that had so suddenly overtaken him only moments ago melted away, leaving a smarting welt of consuming anguish. _What had he done!_ _How could he have just...just..._

Hesitating no longer, the boy rushed over to the prone form. Frantically, he shook the firebender's shoulders. Damp, discarded leaves pressed into his knees as he knelt. Dark patches blossomed across the fabric that touched them.

_Come on, come on. Wake up!_

With eyes wide and glassy from fright he scanned for any injuries detecable in the faint illumination that the hidden moon did provide. He fumbled with the collar of the prince's armor, trying to get a pulse. For a few seconds the airbender felt nothing, not a single beat to appease the fear that was quickly consuming him. _Nothing_! His hands shook viciously now in terror, but he still searched for a sign.

_Please..._

_There!_ He felt it, at last. It was faint, but there was a pulse. His breath came out at once, indicating that he had been holding it without even realizing it. _At least he was alive..._

With a renewed focus, he resumed his assesment of the unconcious boy. His face was pale, as it always was, with a slightly blueish tint. But that was just the coloring that the filtered moonlight had cast on everything.

In vain, Aang attempted to roll the unconcious form over. After a few tries, he gave up. It was impossible. The armor was way heavier than he expected. With some consolation, he noted that there was no damage that he could see. But that didn't account for internal wounds...and Zuko hadn't flown into the tree facing forward. In gruesome resolution, he slipped a hand behind his former captor's head. The thick sticky mess he immediately felt trickling down his palm made him wince visibly. Fighting off a wave of nausea, he wiped the crimson fluid on the grass beside him.

With effort, he managed to prop the older boy up with a knee enough to apply pressure to the open wound. It would have been a whole lot easier if his hands were untied..._Why hadn't he thought of that already?_ He looked around grimly for a sharp surface to sever the bonds with. Not surprisingly, he spotted a small dagger tucked into the firebender's right boot. He reached for it as soon as he was sure he had managed to halt the blood flow completely.

The woven bonds were tight, snapping off as he sawed through them. He discarded the knife the moment it had served its purpose, subconciously bringing his wrists up to his eyes. The skin was sore and discolored, but not broken. He took a moment to massage the areas where bruises had already begun to form. Silently, he began scolding himself.

_What were you thinking? How could you just...lose it like that? You've dealt with Zuko before. He's persistant, but not really worth getting all that worked up over. At least, you've never felt that way before. Why do you hate him NOW?_

"I don't...I mean...I didn't mean to..."

_Its finally getting to you. You're beginning to accept what you've known all along..._

"What?"

_You're not cut out for this. You can't even keep a level head. You're...losing it._

"That's a lie! It was just...because of that dream! I was confused, that's all."

_Confused...confused...A.K.A Demented. Snapped. Murderous..._

"No!" Despair clouded the airbender's face, and he covered it with his hands, fingertips digging into his eyebrows. After a few moments he looked down at the prince from between splayed fingers. Focusing on the rise and fall of his enemy's chest, it was a long while before a faint wisp of comfort induced his hands to drop to his sides. With a set jaw that still trembled despite the effort to mask it, he knitted his eyebrows.

"He's not dead."

_Almost._

"Well, he's not!"

_This couldn't have been what Gyatso had in mind...He'll be so disappointed._

Aang slapped his hands over his ears and scrunched his eylids shut, bringing his chest to his knees, forehead pressing into the armor at the immobile firebender's shoulder. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." he chanted, unsure whether it was to Gyatso or Zuko that he spoke.

-------------------------------------------

Someone was crying.

_Who was it? _It sounded like a child.

He looked around, amber eyes masterfully scanning his surroundings. He took in the smoltering heat and breath-clogging air with indifference. He was used to it. The flames in the distance didn't even faze him.

The state of ultimate ruin in which everything lay, however, did.

He found himself wondering what had hapened. A little voice in the back of his mind was muttering something about caution. He scowled, but complied, advancing with senses on full alert. Stepping casually over cinged debris and shards of many hues, he walked in the direction of the disturbing wailing.

It became louder as he approached what looked to have once been a cluster of houses. They were all damaged beyond simple repair, roofless, charred, the walls that did remain standing were crumbling and stained. _That might have been a well, once_. He stepped disdainfully over the remains of a vegetable garden. There was nothing even close to edible left in the darkened topsoil.

A light breeze wafted past him, a lone figure walking in what might have been a bustling street at one time. _Not too long ago..._He smelled ash and fumes on the wind, and other things. He decided he'd rather not try to identify them. Pausing to look at the sky before continuing, he could see the dark smoke tendrils spiraling up and across as far as the eye could see. When he strained his eyes, he could make out patches of the reddened sky, a backdrop to the smoke.

There was just so much. _Too much_ smoke to have come from a single town. Something about this place made him uneasy in a way he had never felt before. _Why was it so deserted?_ Even in chaos, there should be people around. Scrambling, screaming, yelling, crying. Rushing around like aggravated insects did around a demolished hive. It certainly looked like one. Everything lay in the same state of ruin one might observe by looking upon a demolished beehive. One that had not only been knocked out of a tree, but also been beaten and stomped on repeatedly in a violent gesture of cruelty.

.He kicked a slab of something out of his way, crunching over glass from broken windows. The sheer amount of shards that blanketed the street was mind boggling, to say the least. Every one of the glass fixtures must have emptied its entirety in this manner. He looked, and sure enough, it was true. Not a single one remained in tact. Whoever did this was deffinitely professional. _Thorough._

Probably Fire Nation work.

But rather than one of pride, it was a mask of disgust that covered his face.

Oblivious to nothing, his gaze at last fell upon a sobbing form in the distance. He squinted against the heat that fogged his vision somewhat. She-it looked more like a dress than a tunic she was wearing-was bent over in grief, clutching the remains of...something. Even though the sun was not visible behind the thick smoke that choked the air, he could see she was kneeling in a pool of liquid.

Truly shaken by this image, he quickened his pace.

She didn't look up as he approached, or when he knelt down beside her. She was clutching a china tea cup, he could see what it was now, to her heart. Her dress was a dusky grey color with light pink decals. Albeit scuffed, earthen sandals adorned her feet, and an auburn mess of hair formed a halo around her pale face, more matted than he had ever seen. Although her sobbing had subsided somewhat, she still rocked back and forth.

"Are... you alright?"

In response, she sniffled, but still didn't look up or relent her rocking. He heard a soft crunching as she did so and realized with a lurching sensation in the pit of his stomach that it was glass. She was rocking on glass. There were splinters all around her scraped knees. He had never witnessed anything like the scene that was playing out before him, ever. He never wanted to again. Without thinking, he scooped her up, staring in horror at the crimson puddle as he did so.

_Why was she...? Where were her parents? What was a child doing here, all by herself? _He looked around, although he knew it was in vain. There was no one else around for as far as he could see. There was no sound, except the hushed whimpering coming from the girl in his arms. Not knowing what else to do, he lay her on the ground- a patch free of glass- and looked her legs over. Surprisingly, there were very few cuts, and none of them were deep. He glanced back at the puddle, confused. _Where did it all come from? _

"Hey," he inquired, looking her over. He couldn't see anything serious as far as wounds went. She could deffinitely stand to wash up a little, but she was a kid, and a peasant, so he guessed she deserved some form of pardoning for it. "Where are you injured?"

When he got the first good look at her face he gasped. Her large green eyes widened slightly in fear under his intense stare.

"You...you're..." _he had seen her before, right_? Those eyes rang a bell, but he couldn't quite place...

"No!" She screamed, and started crying again. She started to get to her feet, looking ready to bolt.

"Wait!" He grabbed her arm, unsure of what to do. "I..." ..._Really have no idea what I'm doing_...he realized. He'd never really taken the time to talk to a kid before. Let alone tried to calm one down...

"I'm...not going to hurt you. I just want to talk."

She gave him such a suspicious stare, he almost felt ashamed for...he didn't even know what. Who _was_ this little girl?

"Ok?" he asked.

She didn't answer, but she stayed put_. I guess that's getting somewhere_...he thought.

"So..." For a moment he couldn't even think of what to say. Then the questions came flooding at him. _Why are you here? What happened to his place? Where are your parents?_ He shook his head. Not the right kind of questions taking into consideration the current situation. He wouldn't get any answers if he upset the kid right away. She already looked like she suspected him of something far more sinister than he'd probably ever even consider doing. Why was she staring at him like he had done all this?

He peered around once more. _Had he_? He didn't remember doing it...

Now that he thought about it, _how did he get here_? He thought hard on it for a moment. But nothing came. He kept drawing a blank. Everything before the past few minutes eluded him. His only chance at answers was fumbling with the object again, keeping an eye on him.

"...Where did you get that cup?" he inquired at last. He noticed she was clutching the thing for dear life. At the question she circled her fingers around it fiercely,as if afraid he might snatch it from her. For a few minutes she said nothing, and he just stared at her questioningly.

Finally, perhaps after realizing that he was not, in fact, after her cup, she spoke:

"It's very special. Someone special gave it to me."

"Who? You're parents?" Oops. He had assured himself he wouldn't bring that issue up.

To his surprise she shook her head vehemently. "No."

"Oh." This was going nowhere...He sighed. She looked up at him, this time in curiosity. He looked into the green eyes again.

"I've seen you before." It wasn't a question.

She nodded, eyes narrowing slightly. She was beginning to get suspicious again. Her tiny fingertips drummed against the surface of the cup.

He decided to try a new tactic. He pointed at himself.

"Where do you know me from?"

She looked at him like he'd completely lost his mind. "Here," she mumbled at last.

"What?" That caught him completely off guard. _So he did know this...place_?

"Here. Yesterday...or tomorrow. Maybe this morning." She put a finger to her chin, suddenly deep in thought.

Now he was completely befuddled. He groaned, realizing that trying to get sense from the kid was a losing battle. He couldn't really bring himself to blame her, though. This place, whatever it was, was a mess. Downright creepy. _To a kid it must be a nightmare_...

"What did you do with him?"

"Huh?" He glanced briefly at her before sitting cross legged on the ground. His knee was beginning to ache from kneeling on a shard of glass.

"That other boy. The one with the arrow on his head. What did you-"

"The Avatar! You've seen him? Where?" She had his attention now.

"I don't know where he is! I just asked _you _where he is!" She gave him a defiant glare. "You weren't very nice to him..." she added, as an afterthought.

"What? When! What are you talking about?" he screamed. Instantly he regretted it, seeing her back away. He shut his eyes, and took a few deep breaths before opening them once more.

"I'm...sorry" he muttered at last. She didn't move any closer. He patted the ground hopefully, but she remained where she was. He groaned in exasperation as she shook her head.

"You were mean then, and you're mean now!"

He bit his lip to keep from retorting something inapropriate for ears that young. She did catch him muttering something along the lines of 'she had no right to disobey him', though. For long moments, neither of them did anything. The air was sickening still and hot. It was becoming a little difficult to breathe. The teen wiped a hand across his forehead, mimicked by the little girl who was watching his every move.

Eventually, realizing that he _was_ genuinely baffled, she let up a little. Actually, she felt a little sorry for him now. He bore a strange expression on his face, something both pensive and...sad? Maybe he was tellingthe truth after all. _Maybe he really was just lost_.

"You...you really don't remember?" she asked, gently. She resisted the urge to place a hand on his arm, alhtough it was her immediate instinct. The feeling was quickly repelled. _She wasn't that daft..._Besides, he looked scary. She opened her mouth and almost asked where he got the scar on his face, but remembered her mother's lectures on conversation topics. Somehow, she felt that questions regarding his scar would be classified as one of the inapropriate topics. _It was for the best anyways_...she had picked up right away that the boy who was currently sitting a few feet away from her had a temper.

Zuko shook his head without looking at her. _She was talking nothing but nonsense!_ He had half a mind to just get up and walk away...

"_Noo!"_

He jerked his head in the girl's direction, but she was merely sitting there, eyes downcast.

_"Let him go!"_

It was the girl's voice, but she wasn't speaking. _What was going on_? He had watched her lips, and they didn't move.

"_I never wanted this..."_

That was the Avatar! He looked around frantically.

_Where was it coming from? What..._

Then he remembered.

The smoke.

The glass.

_When was it? Yesterday? Or earlier today? _

_He had stepped on the glass by accident. His intent was to sneak up on the Avatar, because for some reason, he was there too. Then he saw the little girl. Why did she run to him at first? Why was she crying? He had meant to ask her._

Zuko looked over at the little girl once more. She had set the cup down and wrapped her thin arms around her scuffed kness, resting her chin on top of them. She was still watching him. But her emerald eyes now showed more sadness than suspicion. The edges of her dress were frayed, the skirt fanning out against the soil. She looked like a porcelain statue, small, fragile, miming human despair.

"Why were you crying?"

She looked at his face for a long time before answering. His voice had actually sounded like he cared. Or at least was trying to. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she originally thought.

"My Mom...I couldn't find her." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Oh." he said, not unkindly.

"That boy, the one with the arrows.." She could feel him watching her closley and shifted a little, but continued, "He said he was going to find my mom. We were looking for her." A brief smile played across her mouth. And then it was gone, as quickly as it had appeared. "But then...you showed up." She bit her lip and looked back up at him tearfully.

He'd never felt so akward in his life.

He started to rise, paused, then sat back down. He really had no idea what to do. _I'm pretty terrible with children_, he realized. How did he get her to stop crying? A difficult task, it would seem, since he was the one that made her start. _Again._ With a loud sigh, and second-guessing himself the entire way, he straightened his back, stood up, and walked over to her.

"It's...going to be...ok." he mumbled. He patted her back akwardly. She looked up at him, uncertainty written all over her face and dancing in her eyes. She wanted to believe him. Really. She wanted to...trust him.

_But he looked so much like_...

At that moment a loud BOOM! shattered the quiet atmosphere, sending tremors snaking across the ground in all directions. Even the smoke plumes shuddered mid-air, turning rounded gusts into rigid zig-zags. With a shriek the little girl sprang to life, all but hiding herself from view by wrapping the firebender's arms around her. One thing was certain...he wasn't _anywhere _near as scary as who was coming...

Zuko looked in the direction of the thunderous explosion, too distracted to protest. He could make out nothing in the hazy distance. All of the architecture surrounding them was suddenly blanketed in a flurry of cinders. The temperature had risen at least ten degrees within a matter of seconds. A few wild fireballs hurtled down from the sky. A shower of sparks rose from the site where each one landed. The ground quaked beneath them with each impact, and he struggled to keep them from being slammed to the dirt.

"He's coming!" A muffled voice screamed into his armor. He glanced down at the little girl. Her grip was like a vice on his back.

"Who?" Whoever it was, she must have been terrified of him. He could _see_ her trembling for Roku's sake!

She didn't answer.

"Who? Who's coming!" He was torn between pulling her face away from his shirt so he could hear her more clearly above the roar that enveloped them and wrapping his arms around her tighter. She was practically tiny enough to shield from sight. _Was this..this...whoever it was... the one who all but leveled the town?_

A new wave of flaming rocks smashed into the earth. This time with more force than the last. Unable to absorb the impact, the ground cracked and split, crumbling beneath each scorching mass. Chunks of debris were launched into the air, smacking into the structures that were still standing, until nothing remained except rubble. Seeing the pieces of rock hurlting towards them, Zuko stood up, swinging the girl behind him quickly as he stood up and raised his arms in a defensive manuever. She didn't relinquish her grip, her arms still around his waist. Her face was now hidden in his back, however.

"Who's doing this!" he asked again, shouting in order to be heard. How could a _person_ be doing this? He let flames form in his palms and brought his arms together, forming the beginning of a fire-bending stance. He stopped, realizing he was incapable of finishing the sequence with his midsection being held in place. He looked back at her.

"You're have to step back," he called. She opened her eyes for the first time and nodded, unsure of what he was doing, but trusting his word enough to obey it. Hesitantly, she unlocked her arms, peering around him to see what was happening. But, when she saw the flames flickering from between his fingers, she not only released him from her grip but pushed him away in her haste to fling herself backwards.

"You..You're...You're just like him!" She screeched in fear, loud enough for him to make out what she was saying. He spun around.

"Like who?"

She was scrambling backwards.

"Like who!"

_What was she talking about?_ _Why wasn't she telling him anything?_ _None of this made any sense!_ _There was no time for this_... He returned his focus to the rocks headed toward them and brought his fists together in front of his face while stepping forward, and half turning. Thrusting his arms out in front of him, he sent a steady stream of fire surging from his hands. The powerful gust combined with the extreme temperatures of the propelled flames stopped the chunks of earth from coming anywhere within a ten foot radius of the firebender and the child behind him.

Nonplussed, he spun around, knowing there would be another wave that would need blocking shortly. They had to get out of there. But first, he had to know what was going on.

"You have to tell me who!"

He looked around in surprise.

She was gone.

Then everything went black.

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	4. Chapter 3

Author's note: Thank you so much! All of your reviews are kind and very motivating

:grins happily:

Hope you like this one. Things are going to start taking off after this...

Bwahaha! Zuko thinks Aang's crazeh!

**Disclaimer: ** Umm, I think everyone who watches this show wishes they had the rights to it. I am one of those people :P

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**Chapter 3:**

_Keep smiling-_

_It makes people wonder_

_what you've been up to_

_-Author Unknown_

_-_

_- _

Aang heard a groan and jumped to life, springing away from his enemy's body with haste. Casually, he stepped behind a tree to watch the firebender as he came to, from the safety of the thick foliage. Squatting, only his eyes remained visible from in between the leaves.

The exiled prince groaned and sat up slowly, lifting himself on unsteady arms. With effort, he maneuvered onto his hands and knees. He shook his head roughly back and forth a few times, as if to ward off some unpleasant pictures that blocked his vision. That seemingly accomplished, he turned his head to look in each direction, squinting in the darkness. Coming to a conclusion of somesort, a determined expression formed on his face, and he braced his arms.

Aang noticed they shook slightly as he attempted to hoist himself to his feet. With a muted grunt he pushed up off the ground with all the strength he could muster. But it was a doomed attempt. From the speed or clumsiness of the getsure, the firebender swayed for a moment on his feet before collapsing once more upon the ground. A coughing spell overtook him, and he wrapped an arm around his rib cage, face contorting in dizziness or pain.

It was a full minute before the coughing ended, and Aang let out a breath of relief to see that there was no blood coinciding with the hacking. That was deffinitely a good sign. He wasn't surprised to now see Zuko cup a hand to the back of his head, bringing it close to his face to examine. For a moment he just looked at it, eyebrow lifting in acknowlegment, then with a grimace smeared the dry flecks of blood onto the ground.

_Uh oh..._

Knowing it to be the best choice of action, but finding himself incapable of doing so, the airbender ignored his inner voice. It was screaming at him to _run, leave now before it's too late_ but he just couldn't. His feet remained rooted to the earth, eyes watching with a sort of halting fascination. _Why did he have to be such an idiot all the time? Why, why wasnt his common sense kicking in today?_

Zuko picked up the severed bindings with which he had bound the avatar. He held his hand up to a lilac stream of moonlight, rolling the braided material over in his palm. At first curiosity and perhaps amazement slipped across his features in the darkness, and then anger. Fury. His golden eyes had caught another glimmer among the slim, weaving blades of grass. With an air of aggravation, he grasped the discarded dagger, turning it over in his hands for a second before slamming it back into the sheath inside his boot.

"Avatar..."

_Now. It was deffinitely time he should be going. Right now. Turning around and walking away...Running, in fact! As fast and far away as possible...Just step back, turn around. Good, keep going, quietly...keep going..keep_...

Snap!

Aang froze immediately, eyes dropping to his feet. The offending object, a dead, half broken stick lay beneath his boot. It could have easily been a twiggy smirk that was etched into its surface. That was the kind of luck he seemed to be having lately... The boy quickly drew his foot away, eyes snapping up to see if the firebender had caught the sound.

He had.

Not that the airbender was surprised.

Within mere seconds Zuko had sprung up, quickly closing the distance between them, pain momentarily overridden. He was grasping the smaller boy's shirt before he had taken another step backwards. With his free hand he quickly gripped the tatooed wrist. He looked harshly down into the avatar's wide-eyed face, until his head began spinning. His breath was coming in short gasps, lungs expanding painfully into bruised ribs. The wave of adrenalin was quickly diminishing, and he bit down on his tongue to resharpen his focus.

"Avatar..." He tried to sound menacing. _The back of his head was on fire..._

The airbender wasn't making any attempt at escape. He wasn't even struggling. Instead, his large eyes were fixed on his opponent, something odd swimming in them, something that confused the firebender to no end. _Why was he looking at him like that? _Despite tremendous effort on his part to remain standing, he felt the last of his strength ebbing. He sank to his knees, panting. He could feel his grasp on his prisoner slipping, and closed his eyes in absolute frustration. The heavens knew he had felt like a failure before in his life. A few times actually. But now he had taken one step further. He actually _was _one now. Beaten by and unable to overtake a mere _kid_.

Even though there was the tiniest voice in the back of his mind reminding him that this wasn't merely a child, it was the avatar, he did not listen. Words of solace didn't mean anything right now. Absolutely nothing. Especially when considering their source. What use were words of consolement if they came from himself? A _failure_ like him? His fingers clenched and unclenched, ripping up the grass in clumps. He started coughing again, an uncontrollable fit that he couldn't supress. He clutched at his abdomen willing it to stop, pleading with the pain to subside, even a little.

It was fruitless.

He saw the airbender's feet move, but couldn't even bring himself to reach out and make another attempt to grab them. He could do nothing except remain doubled over. And wait. Whatever the other boy had in mind, there was nothing he could do. Whether he decided to finish the job, which Zuko couldn't blame him if he did, or merely take off; it was his move. The ball was in his court. Though his eyes were watering from the effort of trying to quell the coughs, the firebender saw the boots take a step closer. He waited for the blow to come.

It never did.

After another minute, he looked up questioningly at the airbender. To his surprise, he found not a look of anger or even pride, but one quite similar to that which he had worn before. The boy was looking down at him with..._sadness? Or was it guilt_? Either way, it was not what the firebender expected to see on the face of his enemy. Especially not one that had him at his mercy for once, not the other way around. Zuko was well aware that he had never been what one would call "nice" to this boy. Or his friends. Had the situation been reversed, he would not have shown any mercy. _Weakness was, just that-weakness. For the weak. And the weak had no place in this world. _

It looked like he fell into that category...And he hated it. Hated himself.

"Get it..._over_ with!" He snarled at the kid looming over him. Complying, the boy reached down. The firebender fixed his eyes on the grass, preparing himself for an onslaught of wind.

Instead, he got a hand on his back. Then the kid was kneeling beside him, brushing away all of the stray strands of hair that had fallen into his face. He attempted to prop the older boy up even as a look of utter disbelief was sent his way. With a shaking hand he tried to pry away the arm that was gripping an abused rib cage. The teen tried to jerk away, blocking the hand by pushing it away roughly. It only aggravated the wheezing.

"Please...please try not to move so much..."

This time Aang managed to pull away the arm enough to inspect his nemesis' abdomen. Unable to fight off the prodding any longer, Zuko watched the airbender's movements very closely between the spasms within his chest.

There was no visible damage, of course, but Aang could tell from the way the firebender's face pinched in pain at any pressure that there had to be severe bruising. He looked down at Zuko sadly.

"I don't think there's any permanent damage. But it must be so painful... I'm sorry."

Zuko was speechless. Of all the turn of events that could have been playing out at that moment, this was not what he would ever have expected. In complete disregard of what he had thought was a hate/hate relationship, the avatar's gesture's were not ones of hate. Actually, they were calm, gentle. Perplexingly _kind_.

His wheezing had died down a bit. Now there was just a painful spurt of short-breaths every now and again. It would be a few minutes before he could sit up straight again, though.

"W...Why?"Ouch. _Maybe he should wait a little bit longer to speak..._

"Why what?" Aang looked down at him, puzzled.

But Zuko just shook his head, still trying to control his breathing and unwilling to ask more until he had done so. He didn't even know why he was bothering to question the kid anyways. He was likely just a little loopy in the head. The exiled prince had suspected this on more than one occasion. Now he was just witnessing what he had realized before. The kid was just so..._happy_...all the time. So _carefree_. Like there was no way that things could be as bad as they were. Even in battle, his actions were those of one playing a game, rather than fighting for life or anything meaningful. And now, having beaten his opponent, having _won, _he was acting like they had been simply playing tag or something remedial, and he had broken a rule or something. Made an..._oopsie_. And he had said he was _sorry_?

Aang realized that he was probably going to be the only one talking for a while, and took up the reins.

"You mean, why didn't I just run away?"he inquired. He got a grunt in response. The firebender's eyes were closed, a scowl clouding his features as he took in as deep a breath as he could manage. He let it out, then repeated the sequence in an attempted rythm.

"I just...i'm not sure, actually," the airbender mused, almost to himself. "I didn't mean to do that, though. Send you into the tree so hard, I mean. I've just been...stressed a lot, I guess." He fiddled with the uprooted grass beside his tan boots. He picked up a wad of it and let it sprinkle back to the ground much like rain. "I've been having these horrible dreams lately..."

Zuko opened an eye to look at him.

"Nightmares, actually. They're so dark and...and scary sometimes. Occasionally I forget that's all they are..." He lifted his head and looked up at the sky, nearly invisible above the emerald canopy. It looked like he was making a dashing attempt at bottling up some overpowering emotions. After a bit, he let his head fall back down so that his chin was resting on his knees. He wrapped an arm around himself, leaving the other one to brace on the ground and keep him steady. He was silent for a long while, eyes downcast, brooding.

"What are they about? These...nightmares?"

Aang raised his gaze enough to see the firebender sitting upright. He still had an arm wrapped around his ribs but was breathing close enough to regularly. His eyes remained rooted on the ground, as if he refused to meet the other boys' stare. The avatar averted his gaze as well.

"Bad things...towns burning and people...and people dying, and stuff." He shuddered at the recollection.

Zuko didn't press the subject further.

Aang could see his jaw tightening in the darkness,as if troubling thoughts lingered in his mind as well. Sighing, he stood up, brushing some grass from his sodden kneecaps. Zuko looked up to watch him through narrowed eyes. The airbender glanced back at him with a small smile. "Legs were cramping..." he explained. He noticed the other boy's shoulders relax somewhat, but he still remained on edge. _It must be horrible being so uptight all the time_..._I wonder if he ever does anything fun? Wait, this was Zuko he was referring to...He probably didn't even know what 'fun' was_... Swallowing a chuckle, he sat back down and shot the prince an inquisitous look.

"What are you doing here?"

Zuko snorted. "If that's not obvious to you, then I doubt an explanation would serve any purpose."

"Oh yeah..." _Looking for the Avatar of course_...Aang realized what a dumb question it was and frowned. That wasn't what he had meant. "Don't you do anything else, I mean aside from searching for me?" Wait, maybe that was a dumb question too...

"Seeing as how it's the only chance I have at regaining any form of honor, I'd hope not." _Why was he telling him this_? In fact, why was he just _sitting here_, conversing with his _enemy_? Why wasn't he taking advantage of this opportunity, as weird and confusing as it was, to subdue the avatar once and for all?

Because his sides ached, that's why... And who knew? _Maybe the kid's mental illness was contagious..._

A sudden rustling of the ferns and brush around the two boys caught their attention. It was still too dark to see anything solid, but something was approaching. More of the same noises could be heard from every direction. A _lot_ of _somethings_ were approaching! Aang stood up, arms and legs falling into a defensive stance as he looked around wildly, not immediately accepting that it was something dangerous, but wanting to be prepared. Beside him, Zuko forced himself to his feet with a hissing intake of breath.

With a flurry of movement and a sudden flash of illuminating color, a group of firebenders burst out of the shadows. None of their faces warranted a friendly thought towards either of the two boys they had come across.

"There they are!"

There were thirty of them, at least. With quick, practiced movements, they had their quarry surrounded within seconds. They advanced, weapons and flaming palms pointing threateningly.

"I take it, these aren't your men." The airbender mused.

Zuko smiled grimly. "If they were, they wouldn't have such a completely amateur air about them, " he scoffed, pointedly insulting the soldiers that surrounded them. They were Zhao's no doubt. He thought he recognized a few of the faces.

"What'd _you_ do to tick them off?" the airbender asked, genuinely curious. _Wasn't Zuko the prince of the fire nation?_

The taller boy didn't reply, but an unfathomable expression crossed his face, one that Aang couldn't clearly identify despite his efforts. _He'd just have to ask him again later_...the airbender concluded. The soldiers were practically upon them now. He formed a wind sphere in his hands.

A wild arc of flames exploded in his direction. He wrenched his hands wide apart, releasing a massive gust of wind which blew the flames back at their creators and formed a wall of air that shielded him and the boy beside him from a wave of spears and blades. That accomplished, he sent a jet stream of air in all directions, taking out clusters of soldiers much like a ball flattening out flowers in a flowerbed. Beside him, Zuko was spinning in a roundhouse kick, flames streaming from his boot, taking out even more. He looked convincing enough, fluidly completing the movement with a scowl.

Aang could see that he was breathing raggedly again, however. He wouldn't last much longer. Certainly not long enough to finish the fight. The soldiers were regaining their composure, jumping to their heels and approaching again. No matter how many he knocked down, there were more waiting to attck behind them.

_They had to get out of here_!

The airbender looked at his questionable ally who was rasping through clenched teeth as he glared down the soldiers. With a quick shake of his head, the airbender raised his arms above his head. _They'd have to make a quick getaway, if they had any chance at escape._..

With a final look of disapproval at the soldiers, the avatar whipped his arms downward, then out towards his enemies, sending a torrent of leaves, dirt and cracked sticks to bludgeon them. Stinging, perhaps, from various rough objects smacking into them, and temporarily blinded, they had no chance of noticing in which direction their prey had fled.

-------------------------------------------

The first tendrils of light were creeping into the sky, pastel hues smearing the dark edges of the horizon. Paused beside a silver ribbon of a stream, two boys were encased in silence, watching the sky lighten through the overgrowth. Whether from present exhaustion or a real appreciation for the beauty above them was anyone's guess. But there was deffinitely an uneasiness between the two that suggested they were not merely companions taking a break.

Aang was bent over, hands bracing against his knees as he tried to catch his breath. A few feet away, Zuko had dropped his incredulous glower to focus on the tiny stream's bubbling surface. He cupped his hands, dipping them and letting them fill with water, then raising them to his mouth to drink. It was soothing as the liquid slid down his throat which was raw from coughing earlier.

"I bet...they're pretty...angry...about now." The airbender panted. A humongous grin was plastered to his face. "Man, I've never run so fast..."

The firebender to his left glared in response. _Why had he bothered to drag him along? It would have been so much easier to have just left him there. Killing two birds with one stone, as some say_. Not only would he have gotten farther away from the soldiers, he could have ridden himself of his arch nemesis by simply leaving him to fend for himself against those men.

Or maybe he had another fate for his enemy in mind..._Something far worse than being in the company of angry firebender troops.._.

The prince of the fire nation looked over at the kid standing just a little ways away and wondered precisely what was going on in the mind of that overly happy face. What demented ideas were being tossed back and forth behind those large, insanity encompassing, eyes.

He jilted subconciously as the young airbender turned his focus on him. The merriment had disappeared, replaced with a calculating look. Suspecting something sinister, Zuko froze, concentrating on the sparks that began to form in his palms. There was no way he could manage a full-blown attack with his current breathing restrictions. But he'd sure give it a good try. There was no way he was going without a fight. Not to _this_ person.

Sparks turned to flames, and he crossed his arms in front of him, hands pointing at the avatar. He rose slowly, cautious of expending too much energy on standing alone. _He'd probably only get one shot..._With narrowed eyes, he watched his rival, waiting for the first attack.

The uncanny grin returned to the avatar's face. He swung an arm up and pointed at Zuko. The firebender bent his knees in anticipation.

"You're getting better!" Aang exclaimed. He did some sort of small victory jump in the air.

The flames disappeared, and Zuko's arms dropped to his side unceremoniously.

"You were pretty cool back there. I wanna be able to kick flames like that some day! We made a great team, huh?" The look he was receiving dimmed his enthusiasm somewhat. "What?" He still looked so aggravatingly _proud_ of himself.

Zuko slapped himself, letting his hand slide down his face in a gesture of exasperation. What could he possibly have done to deserve _this_? He slumped back to the ground, forearms resting across his knees.

"Still can't stand up for a long bit, huh?"

"I can stand just fine!" The firebender said through gritted teeth. The airbender shook his head disapprovingly.

"They'll come looking for us sooner or later..." His grey eyes fixed on the way they had just come from. He glanced at Zuko. "You still won't be able to hold them off, will you?"

"What's it to _you_!"Zuko growled. "Why are you acting like we're anything but what we are? We're _enemies_. Don't tell me _that's_ too hard for you to comprehend now."

Aang just looked at him with a blank face.

"If I could breath right, you'd be toast by now," the prince seethed, forming fists once again.

"I know." The statement was issued with a saddened voice. The owner turned and began walking away.

Zuko watched him, eyes no longer blazing. The way he had said his response suggested that it was not something the airbender was happy about, or even ok with.

"Where are you going?" the exile asked, lacking venom. He didn't really expect an answer, already sullen that there wasn't really anything he could do to stop the departure.

"My friends aren't too far from here." Aang halted and pointed upstream. "We were stopped for the night and I went for a walk. They're probably still sleeping." He smiled at this, then continued. "I'm gonna go get Appa. He can carry you until we get far away from here." He looked back at Zuko. "Appa's my flying bison. He's great! You've seen him before. Well, I'll be right back..."

And then he was gone, disappearing into the foliage to their right.

Zuko could hear the faint swishing of leaves brushing against the now invisible form as he walked away. He was beyond stunned at this point. The avatar had said his parting words with such a matter-of-fact sincerity that the firebender found himself too confounded to move.

At last, shaking his head to rid it of his rival's current bout of insanity, he rose and began walking in the opposite direction. There was no way he was going to stay put and wait for the avatar to bring his friend-dubbed reinforcements.

------------------------------------------

Aang bounded over the bulging roots as he made his way back to the spot where his companions lay in blissful slumber. He noticed that the sky had lightened noticibly, and found himself hoping that none of them had risen yet. He didn't want to worry any of them with his absence. _He shouldn't have left in the first place, really. But..._

He couldn't quite decide if the events of the night had been for the best or worse yet. He really didn't want to worry about it, though, he was tired of thinking for now. Surprisingly, though, he was not physically tired. _Must still be hyped up from all the action...And all the worrying and suspense._ Anxiety was both dangerous and immensely taxing.

As he caught site of the clearing beyond which the camp lay, he found his thoughts drifting back to Zuko. The soldiers couldn't possibly catch up to where he was any time soon. _But, had he stayed_? Something told him that the firebender was probably not staying put, even if it was just out of spite for the airbender and nothing else. _Ah well...He couldn't get far, anyways. Why, once he hopped on Appa, they'd find him in no time.._.

He hopped through into the clearing.

"Hey guys! You'll never believe..."

His words died in his throat.

There was no one there.

Not even Momo. _Where had they all gone? Where was their stuff?_

Aang scoured the area for a sign, any sign of where they might have gone. He found nothing.

"Guys?"

A couple of birds chirped in the distance.

"Guys, where are you?" he choked, desolation bubbling up in his throat. He looked at his feet as a sob escaped his lips.

There was absolutely nothing there. The campfire should have been where he stood, but it wasn't.

Not only was there no sign of them having gone, there was no sign of the having ever been there.


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Once again, I am indebted to you, my reviewers!

:grins:

I know that was an evil cliffhanger...I'm sorry! Forgive me?

:presents you with the new chapter and a complimentary bowl of Thai soup:

You guys are all awesome, and super kind and helpful. I know that the last chapter was riddled with typos...

:bows her head shamefully:

I was too much of a dweeb to proofread it properly before posting. I will repost it in the future though, I promise. Hopefully this one is better :)

Oh, did anyone else have problems logging in for the past two days? It wouldn't let me for some reason. I could get to the main page and the categories, but the link to the login page was dead or something. Meh...It gave me time to think up a chapter index for this story though! Which is very good, I was having the worst writer's block during this chapter.

On another note: I've fallen in love with the 'Blue Spirit' characterization of Zuko.

:giggles like a schoolgirl:

So don't be surprised if he pops up around here sooner or later.

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**Disclaimer: **Nope, not mine.

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**A Nightmare's Armistice: **By KaleidoscopeKitten

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**Chapter 4:**

_"Hope, deceitful as it is, _

_serves at least to lead us _

_to the end of our lives _

_by an agreeable route." _

_François Duc de La Rochefoucauld_

**-**

**-**

He ran through the sun-dappled woods, greenery cringing and dead leaves dancing in the air stream of his wake. Ignoring the scrapes that blossomed across his forearms and the thread tears climbing up his legs, he pressed on. A look of dread had crept onto his face, as though balancing out the desperation of his feet. Every now and again he came to a screeching halt, a hand cupped around an ear as he scoured the forest. Finding nothing of value, or at least current interest, he'd take up sprinting once more.

_Where was he? He couldn't have gone too far...right_?

Aang could feel an invisible yet apprehensive grip tightening around his throat, constricting both breath and thought.

_What if he couldn't find him? What if...what if Zuko wasn't here?_

He blinked rapidly to prevent any tears from forming beneath his eyelids. _No_. He couldn't think like that_. Of course he was here_. _He'd run into the firebender any minute now._

He hoped.

Tightening his jaw, he thought of the campsite. How forlorn it had looked, barren and void of any presence save his own, as he tediously paced its circumference. Brown eyebrows knitted together at the recollection. He raised an arm to protect his face from a low hanging branch, pushing his legs to the limit as the memory made him increase his speed subconciously. It was neither safe nor wise to be going so fast without at least paying better attention. But he didn't care right now. Finding out where his friends were was all that mattered.

_There had to be an explanation, there just had to! His friends wouldn't have abandoned him. They wouldn't! They were...his family. Wherever they were, they were safe. _

_And he'd find them._

The boy ran thoughts of reuniting with his companions through his head as he stopped for perhaps the fifith time that hour. He knelt down to examine the moss which blanketed the ground. It was crushed in a few places, as though trampled in haste. Someone had been through here. But that didnt mean it had been human. Or specifically, a certain arrogant firebending human. With a sigh, the airbender stood, surveying the area for any other signs of disturbance.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Zuko glanced up from where he sat reclining against the base of a tree. He let the flame currently flickering across his palm go out, cocking his head to one side and listening. He had heard a light shuffling sound somewhere to his left, the vocals of dead leaves stirred from a sodden grave. Slowly, noiselessly, he rose. He pressed his back to the tree, flattening his form to blend in with its shape. He craned his neck as far as he dared and peeked beyond the scratching mahagony surface.

_There is was again._

Footsteps.

A new flame leapt to life in his right hand, a neon blaze made even more beautiful by its dull, otherwise monotonous surroundings. He stepped out a little and tucked his arm behind his back, masking the glow from view. Glancing behind him once, he made sure it wasn't too close to the tree.

Whether it was a firebender or the Avatar, he had no desire to alert them of his presence. Yet.

The treading grew louder, as though it was headed in no other direction except his. The footseps were solid, proud. The pace quickened. Whoever it was was making themselves known, bold and fearless. _They were so close_. The teen squinted, looking for a sign, any sign of who it was. The sound was there, but not the maker. _So close now! _

_Who was it?_

Deffinitely not the Avatar. It was probably a soldier. A large one by the sound of it. As much as he hated to admit it, Zuko found himself preferring the airbender's presence. The footsteps were loud enough to be no more than a few feet away, but he still saw nothing. _Why couldn't he see anyone_?

Suddenly the noise stopped.

_It had been right beside him by the sound of it_! All pretense of surprising his captor cast aside, he stepped away from the tree in confusion. _Nothing. _Not even an animal._ Not a single living, breathing thing! _Aggravated, he stepped past the tree in the direction the sound had come from.

"Where are you!"

He looked all around him, spinning on his heel, hand still alight. He even looked up and scanned the webbing of branches overhead. But they were as vacant as the ground beside him. There was just no one _there_!

With an exasperated sigh he sat down on a large root that had broken through the surface of the soil. It didn't look like any root he'd ever seen, but then again, nothing looked normal around here. The whole place seemed to lack any sort of color, as though he had somehow entered a very detailed sketch which the artist had not yet bothered to color. Even though they were obviously living structures, the trees seemed...dead. It felt like nothing aside from himself was alive. There was something unnatural and downright creepy about the place. He mildly wondered what might have taken place here to make it this way.

Now that he thought about it, it hadn't been this way a few minutes ago, had it?_ Wasn't he just walking through a bright, lively patch of the woods when he decided to take a break?_ He looked up. _When had it gotten so dark?_

"Well, well...if it isn't a little lost prince."

Zuko jumped up and whirled around, eyes widening in recognition of the voice. His amber gaze meeting that of the leering figure standing in front of him, the young firebender narrowed his eyes. The look was returned with equal vehemence.

"Zhao."

The cruel looking man took a step forward, a sly smile curling the corners of his mouth. He linked both hands casually behind his back.

"Yes. I'm afraid we both have the..._misfortune_...of running into each other again." His voice was soft with malice. "One must wonder at the irony of the situation, however."

Zuko crossed his arms in front of his chest, waiting for the man to continue. One of his more condescending stares gave him the appearance of one who was merely bored. He hoped Zhao bought it.

The admiral sneered at the boy and began pacing around him. The lighter amber gaze followed his every movement. Zhao seemed to find this amusing and let out a small chuckle before resuming his speech.

"Here I am in this wretched forest," he motioned his arms at their surroundings "wasting time whipping some new recruits into shape, when I come across a very unusual discovery..." He paused his pacing to look down at the teen.

"A certain banished someone...entertaining very questionable company." He watched as the exile raised his gaze to look him in the eye. "Tell me. What's it like to betray your country so often?"

"What are you talking about!"

"I bet you two are pretty close, yes? After all, you would seem to have much to talk about."

"As usual, you make no sense," Zuko replied tersely.

"Being the two most..._unfavored_ persons in all of the Fire Nation. Surely you and the Avatar have something else in common though..."

"We have nothing in common! How dare you even-"

"That's not true. You are very much alike." The man stepped to the side, an arc of flames just missing him. He was grinning unpleasantly. He allowed a ferocious blaze to form in each of his own hands. As he talked, he slipped into a fighting stance. "You are both filth. And you both require extermination." The look on his face revealed that he believed he was just the person to tackle this feat, and found it rather enjoyable.

Zuko ducked the stream of fire that would have easily burned off the rest of his face. He dropped to the ground expertly and thrust out a leg to knock his opponent off his feet.

But Zhao was too quick.

The older firebender jumped into the air to avoid the maneuver, coming back down and planting a sizzling kick at the teen's abdomen. Zuko felt his breath leaving him as he flew back. He landed on his back a few feet away. The mass of leaves on the ground softened the landing somewhat, but not enough hinder the sharp pain of collision that spread along his back.

_Ugh. Today is just not my day..._

The prince rolled onto his stomach and jumped to his feet, recovering, but slowly. _Too slow_. Before he could bring up his arms to block, he was knocked to the ground once more. He felt a painful tug on his ponytail, causing his head to rise from the dirt. He took the brief opportunity to spit out some of the decomposing mass he'd almost swallowed. The taste was foul, rotten. Gagging, he tried to push up off the ground, but with vicious force his face was smacked down into it once again. What little he could see was now spinning.

He groaned as he was rolled, not gently, onto his back. Head swimming, he looked up. Squinting didn't improve his focus much. It must've been Zhao looking down at him. The wavering figure was wearing his armor, and there was a large grin on its face. Zuko glared back, feeling a trickle of blood slip down his cheek.

The figure leaned in close to his face. It was indeed Zhao. He patted the teen on the head mockingly.

"Don't worry. I'll tell your father exactly how you 'captured' the Avatar..."

He said no more as the teen blew a stream of fire from his lips. The Admiral screamed, jerking back and covering his smoking face with his hands. Zuko sneered, watching the man stumble back.

"And I'll tell Father of your unwavering honor..." he threatened. But it was no more than a bluff. He suddenly felt leaden, unable to even lift himself to his elbows. He mentally cursed himself. _He was pathetic. He couldn't even beat a coward like Zhao when it mattered. Couldn't even capture the Avatar! Roku knew he had plenty of chances..._

Zhao was getting to his feet, a hand still covering his face. He walked slowly over to the boy, until he was standing beside him. A flame ignited in his free hand as he raised it above his head, aimed at his opponent's face. He lifted a foot and slammed it down on the teen's chest, knocking the wind out of him. He made certain the boy had no breath to summon another fire blast, not wanting to take any more chances. This was going to end. _Right now._

Zuko glowered up with a steely resolve through eyes watering from oxygen deprived lungs or the immense heat from Zhao's palm.

"Wanna know a secret?" The Admiral pulled his hand away from his face with a smirk. The skin was unmarred, without the slightest sign it had just been subject to a ferocious blast. The dark brown eyes fixed upon the shocked face of the boy.

"Your father wouldn't take you back, even if you handed him the Avatar yourself!"

Zuko turned his head away as the blast struck his face. _It was over! All over..._

He could feel the flames licking his skin.

But to his surprise, they weren't hot.

They were cool, actually. The pressure on his chest relented somewhat, and he gasped as air re-entered his lungs. Oddly, it was not thick and smoky, but fresh and light. He slowly opened his eyes as the force of the gust dissipated. The strange ferns that grew around where he lay returned to their still, listless existence.

"There you are!"

Zuko choked on the air he swallowed. The Avatar was looking down at him from where he was perched on the firebender's chest, an ecstatic gargoyle.

"I was looking all over for you! I've been running for at least an hour and finally I saw some footprints..." he was motioning wildly with his arms, "Then I heard you talking." He raised an eyebrow, crinkling the arrow on his forehead a little. "Who _were_ you talking to?"

Still blinking in surprise, the firebender looked around. Zhao was no where to be seen.

_What...just happened?_ Everything had seemed real enough.

He brought a hand up to his nose. His fingertips brushed the hot sticky substance pooling at his nostrils and he winced.

"What happened to your nose? It's bleeding. Did you fall?"

The taller boy didn't answer, but knocked the airbender off his chest roughly and sat up. He received a curious stare, which he ignored. _Where did Zhao go?_ He had never known the Admiral to be able to vanish into thin air like that. He wiped an arm across his face, leaving a streak of crimson down the length of his forearm. _And if he hadn't been there, why was his nose bleeding?_ He picked bits of dead grass and tiny debris off his armor, lost in his thoughts.

Aang watched the firebender closely, wondering what had happened to the teen in his absence, but knowing better than to question further. If the expression on Zuko's beat up face was any indication, he was having just about as bad a day as the airbender was. The tattooed boy sighed, disappointed. It looked like his rival had no idea what was going on either.

_Sokka. Katara. Appa. Momo...where are you guys?_

The Avatar scuffed his feet in the dirt. _Please let me find some sign of them..._He fixed his gaze on the patchy, unsightful grass. Although the uneasiness of being lost and alone was dimmed somewhat by his nonresponsive companion's presence, Aang still felt terrible. A horrible, knawing, sinking feeling burrowed in his stomach. He'd give anything to be able to turn back time and stay, oh how wonderful it would be to just _stay_ with his friends. When they were still camping, and sleeping, and things still made sense...

"So? Where are your friends?"

Aang looked over to see Zuko eyeing him with a mingle of distaste and impatience. The interaction, albeit unfriendly, made his mood lift a little. He still felt wretched, though.

"They weren't...they weren't there," he managed. He bit his lip to keep it from quivering. The last thing he needed was to annoy the prince any more than he already did with his presence. He closed his eyes, expecting something derogatory to be issued from his habitually ill-tempered companion. Instead, the firebender asked with honest confusion:

"What do you mean?"

Aang opened his eyes, but kept them fixed on the ground.

"They just weren't there. Nothing was. It was like they had never even been there."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. He looked into the distance, a calculating look in his eyes. "Are you sure...?"

Aang huffed. "Yes! I _know_ it was the right place! It was the same place I was just at a couple of hours before I ran into you." His anger faded, replaced by the same hoplessness as before. "I just don't know how they could...disappear. I _know_ they were there."

Although he was unwilling to admit it aloud, Zuko believed the airbender. _The same thing had just happened to him after all, hadn't it?_ _There was something very, very worng with this place..._

He stood up and looked down at the Avatar. The one chance he had at regaining his honor, returning home with a welcome, rather than an arrest, the only means of bringing the past few years of a nightmare to an end. The answer to all his troubles was just sitting there, picking at the dried mud crusted on the bottom of his boots.

The ex-prince of the fire nation let out a loud sigh and began walking.

"Come on."

-------------------------

For a few hours the scenery had remained unchanging. The still, musty air clung to them as they walked, wrapping them in an unwanted, unrelenting embrace. Of all the sounds that echoed from one dreary stalk to another, crackling beneath their feet, and piercing their ears with scratching clarity, the source of it all remained their tedious trudging.

Neither spoke, aside from the occasional "Watch out, that's slippery," from the smaller one and a snort of disdain from the other. Aang had long since given up on any attempt at friendly conversation with the firebender. His responses seemed to be limited to snorts of disgust, huffs of frustration, and eventually silence. He had begun to think that he might have been better off continuing on alone. But then the occasional bout of loneliness would crawl its way back up his spine and drape itself around his shoulders, reminding him of exactly why he wasn't with his friends at that moment. The sight of his rival's back had come to be his only source of comfort.

_That was even more depressing..._

"Ack!"

He spit out a mouthful of murky water as he scrambled to get a good footing. He had walked right into a liquid pit of muck while his mind traveled. "Ewwww..." He tried to paddle his way to the edge, but found the liquid freakishly dense. He could barely remain afloat. _Stupid place!_ He did a feeble water bending move, attempting to propel himself from the liquid. But, being fairly inexperienced with the element he only suceeded in lifting a few feet before sinking once more. He came up again, hacking.

"Oh no! I can't get out!" He began flailing his arms in panic. _It felt like the water was gripping his legs! _Fear began to hinder any rational behavior as he pictured something creepy lurking beneath the surface. It had a hold on his legs and was pulling him down. _He was going under again!_ Aang closed his eyes as his head was submerged for the third time. _No...This couldn't be happening! He had to find his friends! He had to-_

With a sharp tug, he was yanked from the water by his wrists. He fell down upon a rough surface, bumping his head. He coughed up the vile water , rubbing the base of his skull.

"You have no idea how tempting an offer I just passed up..."

Aang opened his eyes to see Zuko wiping the mud off his front and arms. After flicking most of it away, and wiping his hands on the branch they were perched on he frowned at the filthy boy beside him. Aang just looked back at him with immense surprise. _Zuko just...saved him?_ _Now he knew this place was corrupt._ With a look of utmost contempt, the firebender jumped off the branch, avoiding the swampy mass below with ease. He started to walk away.

"Zuko?"

The firebender halted, then turned around slowly and crossed his arms. Aang looked down at him.

That frown was suddenly, incredibly so, an overwhelming symbol of reassurance. For the first time since he left the deserted campsite, the airbender felt hope override the tiresome worries that had been taxing his movements. He smiled a real smile, not some pathetic ghost of a grin.

"Thanks."

The firebender just shrugged, as though to remind the smaller boy that this one act of kindness came not from affection, but because he was the Avatar. It wasn't as though he had a choice in the matter. _Without the Avatar, he had no home to go to..._

Zuko shuddered as he began walking again. He despised the fact that he had to rely on the kid for anything at all. The airbender was by no means his top choice in companions. With some comfort, he recalled the swampy fiasco, which had been quite amusing until he had ruined it by doing something other than watching and grinning.

_He sank pretty well..._

The teen almost didn't hear his companion over his own chuckling.

"Look at that!"

Aang pointed at a shape in the distance. The firebender looked in the direction his rival was pointing. He couldn't see anything except trees, mud and...more trees.

"And what exactly am I looking at?"

"There's something in the distance! It looks like a...temple or something. It has turrets."

The younger boy was shielding his eyes from non-existant sunlight and peering hard into the distance. With a resigned sigh, Zuko climbed back up to the branch and followed Aang's gaze with his own. It was true. He could see it now, from the meager altitude the branch did offer, an unobstructed view of the shape emerged.

_Why hadn't he noticed that?_

_Because it wasn't there before..._

The firebender shook away the creepy thought his inner voice induced. Beside him Aang plopped down and gave him a face splitting grin. He was looking at the teen expectantly. _What, did he want praise or something?_ Zuko scowled back. It wasn't his job to make the kid feel better about himself. Actually, that was the last thing he'd ever catch himself doing.

"Well! Its not like we have anything better to do..." He jumped down and started walking, this time in the direction of the eerie structure. The airbender was now following him not far behind, moping. _What a dope..._

The teen maintained an aloof expression, masking any inner turmoil from his temporary ally. He did not wish to discuss the fact that he had not recognized the architecture as belonging to any of the nations. He had a feeling that they were headed for quite possibly a lot more than either of them would have chosen to bargain for. But it wasn't like they had much of a choice.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Thank you so much for all of your reviews ;) I hope I never fail to keep you coming back

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**Disclaimer: **Watch it. Love it. Drool over it. But don't own it.

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**A Nightmare's Armistice: **By KaleidoscopeKitten

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**Chapter 5:**

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_One way to prevent conversation _

_from being boring is to_

_say the wrong thing. _

_Frank Sheed_

_-_

_-_

"There's something you're not telling me."

Aang stared hard at the other boy's back as they walked. As usual, he got no verbal response, but did catch the slight stiffening of his companion's shoulders and briskness of his next few steps. He sighed, regret mounting with each of his own strides. The ground they were walking on had become a small, rough looking path a few miles back. Like everything else, it favored dusky gray tones, even though the airbender suspected it was merely dirt. Surprisingly, there were very few bends to the path, unusual for a trail so obviously unplanned. There could only have been two or three people who followed it before them, as it was vague and light, the ground barely trampled on.

Even stranger was the fact that it led straight to the temple in the distance, that had by now come into unobscurred view, looming ahead in volumous arches and spires of stone. Looking to be only a few miles away from their current position, the structure was far taller than either of the travelers had anticipated. Both boys observed the architecture with awe, neither having seen anything quite like it before in their lives.

There was no question of the structure's grandeur and beauty. Unlike the forest that surrounded it, which was dreary and rather featureless, this temple (no it couldn't be accurately described as that anymore), this..._fortress_ was exquisite. The walls were pure white, smooth and lustrous as silk, lacking any form of marring or division lines that were commonly visible on all man-made structures. The archways that made graceful leaps between the towers were edged with mosaic tiles, matching the ones that adorned each large multifaceted window. Every room would surely have possessed breathtaking views, if the location had not been so dismal.

"Who do you think lives there?"

Silence.

"You have to talk to me sometime!" Aang yelled, fed up with being ignored.

"No. I actually don't..." The firebender smirked over his shoulder.

"Ha! Made you talk!" The airbender pointed his finger at the boy who suddenly stopped and turned to face him with a frown. He looked down at the smaller boy angrily, hands balling into fists at his sides.

"But since you seem incapable of shutting your mouth, I see I must at least _pretend_ to acknowledge you in order to preserve my sanity."

"Ummmm...okay." Aang cringed under the teen's fierce glare, but proceeded with his inquiry anyway. Even his companion's wrath would be more bearable than his silence. "So, do you know where we are?"

"No." Zuko resumed walking, arms crossing his chest.

"Do you...know who lives there?" _Ok, not a very logical question, _but it still induced a response.

"No."

"Do you think whoever lives there will help us?"

There was a brief pause before the firebender replied.

"No."

_He really had no faith in people, whatsoever..._

"Then why are we heading towards it? I mean, if you think they're gonna be unfriendly, why are we going there?" _Hey, it made sense._

Ahead of him, Zuko sighed and unlinked his arms. He held them out palms skyward, indicating the trees on both sides. "Do you have a better suggestion?"

"...No."

"I'm not surprised. You're only a child, after all. Try no to let the situation rattle you too much." He re-crossed his arms. Aang could tell there was a snide expression on his face. He glared at the prince's ponytail.

_Why did he think he was so much better than everyone else? Becuase he was royalty, and could order other people around all the time?_

"You know, for as _special_ as _you_ are, you seem to be stuck here with me." _Ha!_

"True. And _misfortunate_. But at least I have the sense not to be whining about it."

"No, you're just scared out of your wits instead!"

"What!" Zuko turned on the airbender, eyes blazing. Aang noticed with slight relief that his hands weren't.

Yet.

"What makes you think I'm afraid? You're the one who's been babbling on nonstop to make yourself feel better! You're the one who's following me, too afraid to continue on your own! And you're the one who's too busy fretting over his stupid little friends to even pay attention to where he 's going!"

"My friends aren't stupid! The only reason you say that is because you don't have any! You're jealous!"

Aang held out his staff in front of him as the teen's fists ignited in flames. He looked him straight in the eye, lowering his voice, channeling his own mounting anger and frustration. It wasn't really directed towards the firebender, more so his disgust at the current hopelessness of the situation. "And I know you're scared too. Even though you try to hide it, I can still see it in your eyes. You have no idea what's going on."

"You have no idea what you're talking about!"

There it was.

The same fear he had seen on the teen's face right after he had found him. The same expression he bore when Aang had pointed out the fortress. He was just as scared as the airbender was. He had merely hidden it with his silence, and was now masking it with his anger.

The airbender lowered his staff, relinquishing his fighting stance. Zuko narrowed his eyes and kept his palms aimed at the kid, but straightened up a little. All of the Avatar's emotions played across his face with such clarity; the large gray eyes looked positively spooked in the inky shadows of the branches overhead.

_Even Zuko was afraid of this place_...Aang felt his courage sinking, and found himself wishing he had never started this conversation. It wasn't serving to lift his spirits as he had hoped, but rather made him even more apprehensive and fearful. He had somehow hoped that the fire bender would have provided some sort of comfort or optimism. That he would have told him not to worry or something. That he would have said since Aang was simply a kid, his fears were dumb and unjustified. _That it was going to be ok._

He had forgotten how unwaveringly honest Zuko could be, his words blunt, stating the obvious no matter how painful or unwanted. And he had failed to recognize that, although older, and more experienced in most things, the fire bender was still human. Still just a teenager. And like his more innocent companion, was afraid. He didn't possess some miraculous cure for fear and worry. He didn't know what to expect, or really what to do.

_But at least he acted like he did._

It was the only thing they had to rely on at the moment.

That, and each other.

"Zuko?"

The firebender was still glaring at him, but most of the anger behind it seemed to have diminished.

They couldn't rely on each other without knowing anything about the other, though…

"Back in the woods. Before I found you. What...What did you see?"

The fire bender took a step back, the flames in his hands winking out as he did so. An unreadable expression passed over his eyes as he regarded the air bender in front of him. There was no accusation in the kid's tone, his eyes were merely pleading for an answer. He wasn't being judged or insulted, the airbender just wanted to know. _Needed_ to know, perhaps.

Zuko turned and began following the path once more.

"Nothing."

Aang knew that wasn't true, but decided it best not to pry any further. The teen's failure to respond truthfully to the question had been answer enough. Whatever he had witnessed, and whatever had taken place; it hadn't been something pleasant enough to talk about.

_Maybe he hadn't been alone in the beginning either..._

No matter the circumstances of the past, they were both in the same boat now.

All they could really do was keep the other from tipping it over.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The tiles squeaked beneath their boots, glossy upside-down reflections of themselves following their every movement. They hesitantly paced the perimeter of the circular chamber they had stepped into, scrutinizing every dazzling inch for signs of life, motion, and possible attack. Like the gloomy woods surrounding the place, a heavy silence prevailed. The ceiling hung high above their heads, vaulting at an incredible height, the beams leading up to it looking more like rippling lace than wood or stone. Directly across from the opening they had come through lay a grand set of double doors looking too large and heavy for human hands to open.

The boys approached it in synchronicity, staring at it in wonder. There were thousands of engraved markings upon it, none of which was recognizable to either one of them.

"Do you know what language this is?" Aang asked the fire bender, who was running a hand softly over the scriptures. He looked like a child suddenly, sheer amazement and curiosity erasing the years of meticulous training and desperation from his face.

"I've never come across anything like this."

"I wonder what's inside…" the airbender put a shoulder to the door and shoved. As he suspected, it didn't so much as budge an inch. He frowned and spun around so that his back was leaning against the pearl tinted surface. It felt cool and sleek against his shirt. He scanned the rest of a room for some way to the top of the towers. _Who knew? Maybe from the great height they would be able to see something recognizable in the distance._

He spotted the bottom of a staircase he had passed when sizing up the room on his way to the large doors. Only the base was visible from where he stood, the stairs twining up and around into an oddly lighted shaft. A similar, mirrored structure lay directly across from it on the other side of the chamber. With a characteristic grin he bolted for the stairway, pausing to grip the delicate handrail, looking up to where it climbed to. All he could make out was the top of the stairs and a few inches of the ceiling of whatever room it emptied into. A sapphire tint basked his face, the faint coloring seeping from above.

"Come on!" He called to the fire bender who looked back at him, an eyebrow lifting as he regarded the staircase. Not waiting for a reply, or perhaps not wanting to be told not to, Aang raced up the stairs. Shaking his head, Zuko followed suite, although with a little less vigor.

At the top of the stairs the air bender paused, unsure of his next direction. A vast hallway extended to either side of him, continuing in each direction for as far as he could see. The jewel blue glow of the entire passageway came from a continuous series of triangular windows lining the ceiling, glass tinted aqua. Zuko came up behind him at last, assessing the situation with his eyes. Both ways brooded no discernable difference from the other.

"Which way should we go?"

"They both look the same. Just pick one, so I know which direction to avoid."

Fear etched its way into the Avatar's childish features. He looked up at the firebender, shaken. "You…You really want to split up now? We don't even know what this place is! What if there's something here?"

Maybe it was all the stress, or just how sincere the kid looked. It was nothing short of ironic how muchhe was pleading to remain inthe firebender's presence. Zuko couldn't stop the grin that curled his mouth in time. Aang caught the small smile on his rival's lips and his fright melted away at once.

"Hey…you were being sarcastic, weren't you?" He narrowed his eyes, but with a grin on his face. "You're mean, you know that?"

Zuko shrugged, looking away. He suddenly felt awkward, not really comfortable with the fact he had just kidded around with the Avatar. And that the boy seemingly enjoyed the interaction, easily accepting the prince of the fire nation, his sworn enemy, as a source of mutual amusement. _Things like that just weren't supposed to take place. Ever. _

_It was treason, pure and simple. _

_Wasn't it?_

The firebender resumed his usual frown, looking first left, then right.

_Was it really a crime to laugh?_

There was absolutely no difference in either direction. On a whim, he began pacing down the corridor to the right.

_It was if it was with your enemy._

"This way, huh?" Aang jogged until he was walking alongside the teen. The large grin still split his face as he glanced sideways at his taller companion. "Good choice. I was going to pick this way too!" When he got no response his enthusiasm dimmed somewhat. He looked the firebender over with interest. _Why had he become so sullen again? He _wondered at the teen's apparent dread of fun. The lack of desire to interact with him. _Had the Fire Nation changed so much in the last hundred years that its people were forbidden to even smile?_

"You know…I think that's the first time I've even seen you smile. A funny smile, I mean…not one of those 'I'm gonna roast you alive smiles'. Those don't count." A snort was issued from his companion. "Did you spend those 'years of training' mastering the grumpy art of frowning?"

"I suppose you think whatever time you spent mastering the art of 'total lack of common sense' was more worthwhile?"

Aang couldn't tell if Zuko was joking or not. His words were clipped, whether from forcing himself to speak, or from trying not to, was unclear. The airbender sighed. _It was no use…_For a brief moment he might have found a crack in his enemy's resolve, but now it had vanished again. All he could do was hope to find it again. And, with any luck, widen it until it was beyond repair.

Aang grinned to himself.

_Now he sounded like the devious one…_

_----------------------------------------------------------------_

"Hey! Lookit this one!" Aang leaned closer to the stained glass window, the rainbow of colors basking his face in pastel illumination. He tapped his chin in thought, a hand resting at his hip. "She's really pretty," he said of the picture embossed on the sheer panel. Zuko stepped up behind him, eyeing the lithe form in the portrait with mounting suspicion. This was the fourth windowpane depicting this particular figure, the expression it bore mirroring the previous three. No matter where you stood she appeared to be watching you, her eyes painted to follow you around the room.

In this particular image she was kneeling on a watercolor globe of the world, arms at her sides, slender fingers grasping the planet beneath her knees. The hem of her skirt blended into the world she knelt upon, becoming the waves that hugged the continents. Her hair streaked out from around her face, long and velveteen, encasing the world in glistening strands of emerald.

Zuko snorted in disdain.

"Figures. Only an earthbender would live in a place like this."

Aang looked up at the fire nation prince questioningly. "Earth benders built this place? I thought you didn't know where we are."

"I don't. But this propaganda," he pointed at the window "is a dead giveaway."

"What do you mean?" The airbender returned his gaze to the figure in the stained glass. "Is she a powerful earth bender or something?"

"Of course not!" The teen scrutinized the image, a disgusted look on his face. "She doesn't even exist."

Now it was Aang's turn to look skeptical. "How do you know that? You don't' even know who she is."

"You mean _you_ don't. I know perfectly well who she is, or rather, is believed to be. Being the Avatar, however, it surprises me that you don't."

"Hey, just 'cause I'm the 'Avatar' doesn't mean I know everything!" He glared at the firebender, pointing at the picture. "Who is it, then? Since you know everything."

Zuko grinned inwardly at the Avatar's frustration but humored him. "Its just an Earth bending legend. She's the spirit of the world or something. Haven't you ever heard of the 'Gaia' theory?"

"'Gaia'?" The airbender pondered this, eyes dancing from the painting to his feet and back again. " That sounds familiar…"

As if remembering something, he looked up suddenly, index finger pointing towards the ceiling in the universal gesture of an idea popping into his head. He looked at his companion who was watching him with a bored expression. "Now I remember. Gyatso told me about her. He said she was very vital to the world, although he never explained what she looked like. But he did tell me that if I tried hard enough, I might be able to hear what she was saying someday…"

The smaller boy returned his wide-eyed gaze to the eye-catching portrait. "I guess I never thought about what she looked like." An impish look passed across his face. " If I had known she was so beautiful I might have tried listening harder."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "The Fire Nation is above believing in such nonsense. I can't say I envy you youruneducatedmindset."

"What are you talking about? It isn't nonsense. She's real. I know it."

"Really? I could've sworn you just said you've never see her before."

"I haven't." The airbender threw up his hands at the 'I told you so' expression his companion bore. "Not everything that exists is visible!"

"No, it isn't. But not everything you _believe _is real either." His tone suggested he was explaining an obvious occurrence to a child who couldn't yet grasp the concept. Aang whipped around, planning on retorting something disparaging about the firebender's beliefs, but he stopped dead in his tracks. Following the airbender's halted gaze, Zuko spun around as well, bringing up his arms in a defensive bearing.

It wasn't a moment too soon, and he ducked to avoid being decapitated with a gleaming spear. The sharp tip glimmered viciously in the aqua hued hallway, slicing through the air as it was withdrawn. With years of learned alacrity the young firebender swung up his arm, grasping the shaft of the weapon as he elbowed its owner in the face. He felt the heat of thickliquid seep into his sleeve before he wrenched his arm away, letting the unconscious man slump to the ground with a thud.

A few feet away Aang was whipping his staff around in circular motions, blowing all of his opposition away. He jumped as a fire ball came whizzing past his face.

"Hey!" He was about to yell at the teen who issued it, but heard a groan from the ground behind him and spinning around, realized he had not been the fire bender's target. With a grin he looked back at his companion, who just finished sending another man flying into the wall. Panting,Zuko caught the airbender looking at him and glowered. The kid was just standing there, grinning at him.

"Idiot," he muttered. But he was pleased to notice that there didn't seem to be any more of the men approaching. The ten that had tried to overtake the them were now splayed out upon the cool gloss of the floor, moaning.

"Why did you attack us?" Aang asked a man who was crumpled near his feet. None of them were permanently damaged, just a bit roughed up and fairly dazed. The man looked up at him with a steely expression.

"How dare you…intrude…" He hissed as he pushed himself to his hands.

"We didn't mean to." The airbender extended a hand to help the man up. It was studied with extreme distrust. The man looked first at the kid who had just sent him flying into the wall, and then the other boy who was standing a few feet away with arms crossed and who was masking his own look of resentment. He knocked the younger boy's hand away viciously.

"You are not welcome here." He rose slowly, eyes trained on his opponents. He caught a sudden flicker of movement behind the teenager, and he realized that another of the guards was getting to his feet unbeknownst to the intruders. A wry smile formed on his lips and he looked down at the airbender, knowing the firebender was watching him as well.

"I don't know how you got here, but you would have been better off if you had stayed in the forest…"

Quick as a whip he grasped the younger boy by the shoulder, spinning him around and pinninga small arm behind his back.

"Oww! Hey!" His protests brought the desired reaction from the firebender, who stepped forward, a blazing sphere aimed at the man's face.

"Release the Avatar and I might let your pathetic, peasant hide survive this encounter." For one so young his voice was grave and deadly, his expression quite menacing.

The man smirked in response.

"If they let you live, boy, I might pretend to take your threat seriously."

At that, the teen seemed to realize something, and his eyes widened. Before he could spin around, however, the man looming behind him brought down the spear shaft swift and hard, connecting with the boy's temple. He crumpled to the floor, blackness overtaking his vision as he fell. The last thing he saw was the Avatar's face clouded with concern as he struggled vainly to free his arms.


	7. Chapter 6

**Auhtor's Note: **Sorry for the long delay. I've just joined the monotonous ranks of our nation's military. My calling: aviation mechanic.

:laughs:

Ok, ok. Its a long shot from an astronaut and even a cook. But, at least I'll get some college out of it, and a reason to stop moping around the house. :P

Anyways, I'll be leaving for boot camp on the 24th, so I've been doing all the good prep stuffs for it, and haven't had much time to write. But I will try my hardest to complete this story before I leave.

**Disclaimer: ** I don't and will not own Avatar:TLA no matter how much I daydream...

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**A Nightmare's Armistice: **By KaleidoscopeKitten

**Chapter 6**

**- **

_ A penny will hide the biggest star _

_in the Universe if you hold it_

_ close enough to your eye. _

_Samuel Grafton_

_-_

_- _

He cringed as his shoulder hit the chilly, unforgiving surface of the chamber's wall, glaring up at the man who had released his arm at last. Through narrowed eyes he looked up at the towering figure, subconsciously rubbing his sore shoulder. Across the circular room two other guards dropped the unconscious form they were carrying onto one of the reclining surfaces that served as one of two visible furnishings. The action was administered with deliberate cruelty, and it was by no means gentle.

With no more than a 'hmmph' in closing, the three guards marched out, pulling the heavy door shut behind them. The grating of it against the tiled floor sent tremors skittering beneath Aang's feet, making the wall at his back tremble. The sound of a few outside latches locking followed, producing such a tone of finality that the airbender let his eyes fall shut as he slid to the floor.

_Things just keep getting better and better!_ Aang hid his face in his hands, the sarcasm of his own thoughts hitting home, an unsettling display of just how unraveled he was. Unwilling to wallow in pity of himself further, however, he lifted his head to stare at the unconscious boy who lay on his back ten feet away. With a sigh the airbender rose, chewing on his lip as he walked over to inspect his cell mate. In a way, this was all his fault. If he had only been paying better attention, he would have seen the other guard rise up behind the firebender, and would have been able to warn him. It was the least he could have done, after all, as his companion had rescued him a few times.

_Some help you are..._

Tentatively, the monk reached out a hand, fingers tracing the newest head wound the firebender had acquired. Luckily there was no blood or broken skin, but a slight discoloration was already present, a bump having formed almost immediately after impact. Inspecting the rest of his rival's face, Aang noticed traces of blood beneath his nose. Hoping that it was merely the remnants of the firebender's earlier nose bleed and not a sign of sever head trauma, he leaned closer.

"Aaaaaaaaa!"

Aang screamed as a vice like grip encircled his upper left arm and jerked back in fright. At the piercing sound the seemingly unconscious teen's eyes shot open and he bolted upright. Zuko looked around dazedly for a few seconds before his eyes fixed upon the airbender. He scowled at the smaller boy's wide-eyed face so close to his own.

"Avatar!"

"Who else would I be? Let go!" Aang glowered down at his companion who looked to be, as usual, in a foul mood.

With a look of surprise the firebender's eyes drifted to his hand, which was indeed gripping the airbender's arm. He relinquished his grasp and watched as the kid retreated a few paces, before raising an eyebrow.

"Where are we?"

The airbender's forehead creased in thought. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "It looks kind of like a prison cell…"his eyes traced the outlines of the room, and he walked over to the small, high window on one of the far walls. The tangerine light filtering through it provided the only source of illumination, and a faint one at that, as a result of the setting of the sun. It looked like they would only have an hour or so more before all was made invisible.

Zuko sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. It wasn't an uncomfortable structure, but he preferred to stand in the Avatar's company, disgusted with himself for showing such weakness in front of the other boy at all. He walked over to the small window stiffly, resisting the urge to clasp a hand at his head to pacify the throbbing.

Aang stepped aside as the teen passed, allowing him an un-obscured passage to the window. Maybe he'd be able to tell where they were from what he saw. He watched with hopeful eyes as the firebender lay his hands on the windowsill and peered out over the tawny horizon. Aang waited for him to speak, but he said nothing, just stood there staring straight ahead. It was a long while before the taller boy moved, but when he did so, it was only to let his forehead fall lightly against the glass in exasperation.

Disappointed, Aand walked over to one of the cushioned lounges and plopped down with a sigh. It wasn't as though he had truly believed the firebender would see anything worthwhile, but _knowing_ that he didn't was even more discouraging. He looked sullenly at the floor, kicking his legs back and forth, focusing on the artwork beneath his swinging feet to keep himself distracted.

"I hate this place."

Zuko turned to look at him, elbows now resting on the sill, but said nothing. He couldn't really think of anything worthwhile to say, although his own thoughts were clouded with commentary on their present location as well. Not pleasant commentary, either. An overwhelming question did seem to make itself heard above the rest of the chatter in his mind, however. _Where _were they?

He let his gaze drop to the polished tiles beneath his feet, each of them a jigsaw piece of the picture puzzle that was the floor. If the situation had been different he might have admired how incredibly eye-catching the whole thing was; a glossy mosaic of the world, the crests of the painted waves and brushstrokes of the trees curling so lifelike beneath his boots. Each tile looked as though it had been hand painted with such painstaking care, the teen scoffed at so much effort having been put into the decorating of a holding cell. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that the Avatar was studying it as well.

"Hey," the young monk said, lifting his gaze to meet that of his silent companion. Seeing that the firebender was paying attention, or at least not looking out the window any more, he let his eyes fall once again to the floor. "About what you said earlier…." He stopped kicking his feet to examine the markings beneath them. "About the 'Gaia' legend, I mean. Where….Who told you about it?"

"History tutor. Why?"

"Just wondering. What all did he tell you?"

"Is there a point to this?"

"I'm not sure," Aang answered honestly. "But I'm really curious about something. Maybe you can help me figure it out…"

Zuko sighed and crossed his arms, not bothering to hide how insignificant he deemed the conversation to be. "Fine." He rolled his eyes as the smaller boy gave him a smile. "What do you want to know?"

"You said that woman was believed to be the spirit of the world?"

"So the legend goes…"

"But that can't be right-"

"How amazing of you to figure that out." He smirked as the airbender shot him a glare.

"I mean, it doesn't make sense…." He held up a hand to halt the teen's next retort. "Because _I'm_ supposed to be the spirit of the world. The _Avatar_ is."

"Yes, so I've heard."

"So how can this Gaia legend exist? Since there have been walking, talking contradictions like me for thousands of years, why does anyone believe in it?" _Gyatso believed it…_

Zuko sighed and leaned against the wall. "Because you are talking about two separate entities of sorts." He frowned at the look the airbender was giving him. _Shouldn't the kid know this stuff already?_ Suddenly he felt very sorry for whoever possessed any sort of faith in the kid. To know that some placed the fate of the world in the hands of the boy that was presently eyeing him like he had grown two heads in the past few seconds was frightening, to say the least. "Tell me, Avatar…how many trees are in that forest?" he pointed out the window.

"I don't know. What kind of question is that?"

"One that you _cannot_ answer, which gives you the answer to _your_ question."

"You're….Okay, you've lost me."

"You just said you're the spirit of this world."

"Yes."

"Then why can't you tell me how many trees are in that forest? As the spirit of this world, shouldn't you have some sort of attachment to them? Can't you _feel_ how many there are?"

"No. I….can't." Aang tapped a finger against his chin in thought. He'd never really thought about what the firebender asked before.

"Do you know why?"

"Because…because I'm not physically attached to them. Because, although my spirit belongs to the world, my body is human?"

"Exactly."

"So what does that mean?" He was confused now. Really, really confused. And he had a feeling the teen was getting a kick out of his frustration.

"It means precisely what you've suggested. You are the spirit of a world, walking around in a human body. A physical form that exists separately from this planet. And as such, you have no formal influence over the world, or vice versa, save your ability to bend all of the elements."

"And this has to do with 'Gaia'…"

"Think about it, Avatar. If you're not at home, who is? Who's the one keeping those trees alive? Who must remain to keep the world in order after you left it to go gallivanting around in a human body?"

Realization dawned on the monk, lighting up his face. He grinned at the firebender. "Gaia?"

"So some believe." Zuko walked over and sprawled out on the vacant lounge. Maybe the kid would shut up long enough for him to come up with an escape plan, now. He looked up at the ceiling noting with disappointment that it was far too high to reach. Not that it would be possible to climb it anyway, the walls were too smooth. Nothing whatsoever to grab onto.

"Zuko?" Aang ignored his rival's groan. "I just don't understand one more thing. How can we both be the spirit of the world? Is it possible for something to have two spirits?"

"No."

"Then how-"

"Can you talk and think at the same time?"

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"Well, most people can. Think of it as sort of like dreaming. While you're asleep, your body is lying down wherever you went to sleep. But in your dream you're doing something completely different."

"Oh. So, were really the same pers…um, spirit? We're just doing different things?"

"Something like that."

"Then how come I can't communicate with the rest of myself?"

"Its speculated that being in a human body for so long has severed your bond with the planet to an irreparable extent. The part of the world's spirit that you embody has, over time, become human as well. Or close enough to impede your connection with the planet itself."

"Oh."

With a snort Zuko rolled over so his back was to the airbender. _Easier to ignore him that way_…Although he hoped the kid was through with his annoying questions anyway. They had to come up with an escape plan of sorts if they had any chance at surviving their stay in this fortress. The firebender got the distinct impression that they were not going to stumble upon any kindness from its inhabitants. The actions of the guards had revealed that much.

What the teen couldn't figure out, however, was _what were they doing here_? The guards, that is. Not that Zuko cared one way or another, but he had a gut feeling that the men who currently held them captive were not, in fact, natives of this fortress. Maybe it was a bit stereotypical in theory, but there was just no way such gruff, coarse looking men had built this place. Their appearance and bathing habits, or lack thereof, left something to be desired, at the very least. A very stark contrast from the pristine beauty of their surroundings.

Also noticeable was their apparent disdain and disregard for the splendor around them. The firebender had seen one of the guards shatter the stained glass window he and the Avatar had been previously discussing, pivoting on the shards carelessly as he raised his weapon over the airbender's head for a strike. He had issued a sort of half glance at the closest remaining portrait, smirking at the figure in the painting. As he attempted to stake the distracted boy in front of him, he regarded the water-color female haughtily, as though he found the idea of "her" witnessing what he was about to do both ironic and amusing.

Zuko had caught all of this, and sickened by the barbarian's blatant arrogance, had sent a fireball at his face, purposely pain-oriented. The Avatar was his, and his alone. No one else's honor rested on the boy's capture. He wasn't about to let some filthy self-proclaimed warrior claim his prize. Especially not one so vulgar or so lacking in respect for spiritual relics.

Not that he believed in the myths that had obviously played some part in the fortress' establishment. But his mother had taught him to respect the beliefs of others enough not to vandalize beautiful relics without cause. He recalled vaguely that the true followers of the Gaia myth were sworn to charity and hospitality, seeking to discover and give a free rein to the balance that was said to exist within the heart of the world. Tedious, spinless stuff, really.

It was probably better this way.

He had never felt comfortable relying on the compassion of others. He'd take hostile hosts over kind ones any day. At least he knew how to react to what would be offered under these circumstances…

With retaliation tactics.

_But first, they needed to get out of here…_

Zuko sat up and looked at the door. It was a large slab of polished rock, marble maybe. There was no door handle to speak of. Of course nothing could be_ simple_. With a snort he stood and walked over to examine it closely. He ran a hand over the smooth surface, searching for something, anything. A weak spot, perhaps. Large crack, chipped stone, loose hinge? He ran a finger along the edge of the door. It was so thin, barely a crack that separated door from wall.

"Did you find a way out?"

_Snort._ "No."

"Do you have any ideas about how we're going to escape?"

"No. Why, do you?" the firebender turned around to sneer at the smaller boy. "Does the amazing Avatar have an incredible jail break tactic up his sleeve that he'd like to share?"

"No. I…I don't. I don't know _what_ to do." The airbender pulled his knees up to tuck them under his chin and wrapped his arms around himself. He resumed staring at the floor.

Zuko observed this with a mixture of resentment and curiosity. He hadn't actually expected the kid to come up with something. If anyone should be able to figure out something it was him, being more experienced in this sort of thing, having trained all his life for such scenarios. In truth he was frustrated with himself for proving to be so useless at the moment, not being able to come up with anything aside from the occasional deriding comment aimed at the kid sitting on the half-couch.

The fact that the kid had the nerve to sit there, looking _ashamed_ made the firebender ball his hands into fists. Even sitting there, staring at the floor, the kid was making him look bad. "What's the matter with you?" He glared at the airbender as he looked up at him, eye's wide and questioning. "You've been acting nothing short of _pathetic_ since…" he stopped short, the finished thought cutting off his words. _Since he came back after looking for his friends…_

_So that was it._

"Look," he said, forcing himself to lower his voice and channel his anger. " Acting like you are…it doesn't help. It won't help get us out of here." The firebender lifted his hand to place a thumb and forefinger at the bridge of his nose. He couldn't believe he was saying this, but if it got the kid to stop looking so damn pitiable it might be worth it. _Might_. He closed his eyes and massaged the area between them. The grimace remained on his face. "It won't help you find your friends, ok?"

After a few moments without hearing a reply, Zuko opened his eyes and lowered his hand to see why. The monk was just staring at him with a strange expression, regarding the firebender as one might regard a snake beneath one's feet. Watching him without moving, unwavering, as though anticipating some sort of fear-provoking gesture.

Or abrasive follow-up commentary.

The prince of the fire nation felt his cheeks redden under the intense stare of the Avatar and spun around quickly in pretense of resuming his inspection of the door. _Was it such a big deal for him to say such meaningless things? Well, considering who he was, and who he was talking to, yes_. He felt the fury building up in his chest again. _Why did the kid have to be so unbelievably irritating? _There had been no secret meaning in his words, no underlying sympathy.

"You're right, Zuko."

The teen turned around at last, scowling at the smile that curled the airbender's lips.

"That wasn't an attempt at making you feel better, Avatar."

"I know."

" I'm just sick of your idiotic moping."

"I know."

"……"

"Thank you anyway."

_Snort_. "Whatever."

"You know what?"

"I don't really care what." The firebender put his head to the door suddenly. _What was that sound?_

Aang watched as the teen's eyes widened and he leapt back from the door. "They're coming." He raised his fists, bringing them in front of him in a defensive stance. He nodded at Aang to follow suite. They weren't about to just sit there and diffidently take part in whatever their captors had in mind.

When the door swung open a torrent of flames and wind erupted from their hands, billowing out the doorway in elemental fury. A smirk curled the firebender's lips as the airbender lifted an eyebrow, looking past the doorframe and into the hallway. They both lowered their arms simultaneously, eyes fixed on the floor where their opponent surely lay.

But there was no one there.

"What?" Aang took a step forward in puzzlement, but Zuko put out an arm to halt his motion. He narrowed his eyes, scanning the opening.

"It's a trap. They're _waiting_ for you to walk out the door."

"Very clever." A guard appeared suddenly, a tall, rough-looking silhouette. He held a bucket of water, apparently unarmed. "I suppose I didn't expect you to come easily."

"Come where?" Aang asked curtly, glaring up at the man. The guard smiled down at him in a very unpleasant manner.

"Why for you….I think a little justice might be in order. It was you, wasn't it, who was supposed to maintain order between the elements? Let's just say that since we've come to discover your decision to…sleep on the job, we've found a very fitting punishment for you."

Zuko shot a quick glance at the airbender beside him. The kid looked absolutely petrified, and was shaking from fear of the suggested punishment that lay in store, or from the man's knowledge of his past. The man's words made no sense to the firebender, and he did not bother asking for a dissertation. His head snapped forward as the man addressed him.

"And you…" the man took a step closer, seemingly unafraid of the flames that licked the teen's palm. "You will have the distinct pleasure of visiting our interrogation department. But don't let yourself get too cozy there. We have precisely twenty six methods of delivering the death penalty, which I'm sure you'll receive, being not only fire nation scum, but _royal_ fire nation scum."

And with that the man lifted the bucket in his arms and splashed its contents upon the two boys opposing him. They looked at each other for a moment, now dripping, but otherwise unharmed.

Raising an eyebrow, Zuko scowled at the guard as he lowered the bucket with a grin. _What was the meaning of that?_ The water might have doused the flame in his hand, but it wasn't as though it had an irreplaceable source. _Was stupidity common of all his opponents?_ He opened his mouth, preparing a suitable insult worthy of the man's intelligence.

Nothing came out.

_What!_

His eyes widened as he slumped to the ground. He could see the Avatar fall to the ground as well, beside him. He struggled to roll over, a wave of fear rushing over him as he discovered it to be futile. He couldn't _move!_

The man stepped closer to peer down at them with malice. He pointed to the bucket in his hands, dangling it over them so the remaining drops splattered on their upturned faces. "Shir-shu saliva diluted with water. Comes in handy when dealing with naughty children." He seemed to be relishing the look of pure hatred in the firebending teen's eyes.

Three more guards approached to look down at the immobile boys, and the first man gestured for them to be picked up. "Take the fire brat to be interrogated. The Avatar comes with me."

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Hope you liked it!

I can honestly say I pulled anything that relates to 'Gaia' in this story outta my butt. It's purely speculation, and likely not even remotely true.

But for the sake of the story, lets pretend it kind of makes sense, k?

:winks:

I promise another update in no later than two days!


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Note**: First of all, I must sincerely apologize. Despite my promise, the posting of this chapter falls six hours late, the result of not being able to log in last night, even though it posed no problem at 9 AM yesterday morning. I know this won't even begin to make up for it, but I feel really bad and will therefore be updating twice today. Look for the following chapter at around 6PM, if everything goes smoothly :)

And now, on a completely random subject….

Ack!

No, seriously...ACK!

Are any of you guys good at push-ups?

'Cause I'm not.

Ok, scratch that…I'm horrible at them! I can probably do all of _seven_ if I'm lucky.

And the recruiter just informed me that I need to be able to do at least 16, bare minimum.

:Laughs:

I'm gonna need some serious steroids or…something.

**Disclaimer: **The odd, irrational plotline of this fic is all that I own. Nothing else. Ok, well maybe the creepy guard-guys also, but I don't really see myself bonding with them anytime soon…

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**A Nightmare's Armistice:** By KaleidoscopeKitten

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**Chapter 7**

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_"There is nothing more galling _

_to angry people than the coolness _

_of those on whom they wish _

_to vent their spleen." _

_ Alexandre Dumas_

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From what Aang could see, having been tossed indolently over the guard's shoulder as he was carried out of the cell, they were headed towards the main entrance of the fortress. He recognized the long hallway he and Zuko had been wandering about in not too long ago, eyes shifting from one stain-glassed image to the next. They were much darker now, the brilliance of their original colors dimmed considerably by the setting of the sun behind them.

The horrid squeak of his present captor's feet against the smooth floor as he scuffed along made the young Avatar frown. Well, at least it certainly fashioned an immense desire to. His non-responsive head bumped roughly against the guard's armored back plate as he descended down the familiar spiral staircase, and for a brief moment the airbender was glad he couldn't feel anything.

_Where were they taking him?_

He suppressed another wave of nausea that vowed to consume him as they at last reached ground level, and couldn't decide if it was in fact caused by the motion, or the mounting fear of what lay ahead. There was no denying it; he was downright petrified. And he had long since given up on trying to ignore it or even tell himself there was no grounds for any such alarm. _Because there was…_

Somehow, these men had found out about his century long slumber beneath the sea. Somehow they had seen right through him, glimpsed him for precisely what he was: a coward. And he was about to face justice for the crime he had undeniably committed. He _had_ abandoned the world. It was because of him that the fire nation had succeeded in its first attack. It was his fault alone that so many had fallen victim to the continuous siege and tyranny of war that should never have taken place.

He couldn't even find it in himself to blame them for their callous treatment, as they honed a justifiable opinion of him.

Of the _Avatar._

_Even Gyatso, kind, understanding Gyatso couldn't forgive him this. _

_No one else could have shamed such an honorable title and position to such a horrific extent like he had…_

"Almost there."

Aang forced his eyes open, not even remembering having closed them. He glanced from side to side, vainly trying to get a bearing on where he was. He could see the reflective gloss of the floor positioned a few feet below his head, and examined what he thought must have been the base of one of the twin spiral staircases. There looked to be another one on his opposite side, leading him to realize that he was currently in front of the great doors that he had attempted to shove open previously.

The guard mumbled something and hefted the boy roughly from one shoulder to the other. Aang could only guess what the man was doing, as he found his frontward view blocked by the large back, but he assumed it had something to do with the inscriptions on the door. His lumbering captor turned his head to question the guard beside him and a brief discussion followed.

_Why couldn't he understand what they were saying?_

Their words were obviously English, but the airbender couldn't seem to distinguish one word from the next, the banter was distorted in such a way that made it as indecipherable as prose recited under water. Not for the first time, the young monk felt himself privy to the hunch that he couldn't make out what they were saying for a reason. That someone or somet_hing_ was censoring the conversation from his ears alone.

_Was that even possible? _

_And if so, who had it in their power to do such a thing?_

_Why was this happening to him?_

He _wanted_ to _hear_ what they were saying!

Then, to his surprise, he suddenly could:

"….don't care what it says, open the damn doors!"

"Yessir."

_What? The doors? These men could read the encryptions? What did they say?_

He was fully prepared to ask this aloud when he was silenced by awe as he heard the vast doors swing open with a magnified creak from disuse, and he was tossed roughly to the floor. He could feel his temple connect painfully with the unforgiving surface of ceramic tiles, and opened his eyes just in time to see the two guards step over him as the colossal doors boomed shut.

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------------------------------

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Zuko narrowed his eyes dangerously at the man who forced his immobile body into a sitting position in the rusted skeletal frame of a chair. Having accomplished this, the man strode across the room to where a much more visibly appealing chair was positioned, grasping it deftly with one hand and dragging it closer. He stopped a few feet from the firebending teen, as though somehow sensing the silent fury coursing through the paralyzed form.

With a crooked grin, the man plopped himself onto the cushioned structure, regarding the boy across from him over folded hands. "Comfortable?" he asked, taking pleasure in his own sarcasm.

"Tch. Resorting to hospitality now, are we?" The boy set his jaw, eyes boring invisible microscopic holes into the guard's flat forehead. He could detect faint traces of feeling returning to his limbs, but forced himself to maintain the guise that he was still paralyzed to an absolute extent. He didn't want to alert the man to this newfound budding of mobility at any cost. _At least, not until it was too late…_

The man caught his smirk and raised an eyebrow.

"Think you're brave, do you?"

The teen didn't reply at once, instead forcing his mouth into a grim line.

"I bet you think you're tough. Being a _prince_ and all…"

"Lineage doesn't define courage, only your actions," Zuko sneered, " and I must say you and your men verify the theory quite nicely.,"

That wiped the slimy grin off the guard's face.

"Shut your mouth, boy."

"Why? I was under the impression you wanted me to spill my guts, but if you insi-" a brutal blow to the jaw temporarily silenced him, and he had to clench his fist to keep from throttling the man who had struck him. Luckily the guard wasn't watching his hand, and he spit a reddened spray at the floor, purposely hitting the man's boot.

To his surprise this only served to make the man smile again, as he leaned back in his chair once more, arms crossing behind his head.

"Now things are getting interesting. Lets carry on shall we?"

Zuko snorted, mentally dismembering the haughty mountain of a man reclining a few feet away. It was not an easy task refraining from flexing his left leg. He was beginning to get sensation in his right foot again.

"Seeing as how you have trouble following my train of thought, I will proceed with simple, concise questions from now on. Is that conforming to his highness' liking?"

The teen let out a bored sigh.

"Will there be a recess from your blatant stupidity at any time during our conversation?" He refrained from chuckling at the man's expression, on the basis that it was a childish gesture.

"What are you doing here?" The guard was gritting his teeth, visibly restraining himself for the moment.

"Enjoying the intellectual stimulation of our conversation."

"Keep it up, boy. _See_ where it gets you…"

"Certainly. Since _seeing_ is just about the one thing I can do at the moment," he purposely let his eyes roam over the man before him with unmasked disgust and exaggerated impudence, "although I must say it is undeniably lacking in appeal at the moment."

"Answer my question!"

"Which one? The one about what I'm doing here, or the one that is surely running through your mind?" Zuko closed his eyes in pretend thought for a second before reopening them with a straightforward expression. "Two seconds." He regarded the man coolly before explaining: "Two seconds is how long it would take me to deal with you in a permanent fashion, had I the ability to move."

He could see the man trembling with anger and braced himself for impact from the man's meaty fist as he sprung to his feet and approached the teen menacingly.

But the blow never came.

The guard had paused mid-punch, his fist hovering inches from his prisoner's face, as though something had suddenly occurred to him. Cocking his head to one side, he let the fist fall to his side, regarding the teen with an odd expression.

"Something wrong?"

He ignored the boy's taunt, barrel of a chest heaving as he breathed deeply to clear his senses and calm down enough to regain a rational thought process. It was already apparent that this wasn't going to be a normal procession. Well, as normal as one of his interrogations could be categorized as.

It was becoming obvious that the boy had no fear of the pain his captor was capable of inflicting. He would not be swayed by mere threats of violence or mentions of death.

At least, not his _own._

"Ah, I see now…" the guard linked his hands behind his back and turned away from the firebender for a moment. He strode to the far wall of the room where a large rectangle of parchment was framed. Behind the glass a geographical map of the world was displayed, a black and white sketch of the four kingdoms as they had appeared before the war.

"You appear to be a little _touchy_ on that subject." He pivoted so he was looking the teen right in the eye. "The reason why you're _here_ that is."

Zuko raised an eyebrow, making no sense of the man's rambling. Not that it mattered. The longer he talked, the more time the teen had to regain complete control of his body once more. _If he could just keep him rambling for a few more minutes…_"I'm glad you seem to like the sound of your own voice. It must be hard to find someone else willing to listen to it, aside from the occasional unfortunate captive."

Surprisingly, the man's grin grew wider. This confused Zuko to no end, but he refused to admit it aloud. Instead of angry, the man's tone was calm, deliberately honeyed. "It's rather disturbing, isn't it? When lying to one's children seems the..._kindest_ option?"

"What are you talking about?"

"And why do you think the children always believe their parents? Why can't they seem to recognize the truth? Not even after its been dangling in front of them for…oh, what would you say…_two, three years_?"

"What the hell are you talking about!"

The man sighed in pretend anguish. "Yes, I find it quite disturbing as well. They should be able to _tell_ that their…oh say…_father_…really can't stand them at all."

"You-"

"Yes, it is _quite_ pitiful, I agree. But I must digress that such false hopes are often necessary to uphold those who cannot help but be the poor wretches that they-"

"Shut up!"

"What? Oh! I apologize…Have I said something you find offensive. Or rather, _didn't want to hear_?"

"You have said nothing that is true or even remotely makes sense. Your mindless jabber sickens me!"

"Does it? Now we have something in common, boy, as you _presence_ sickens me. Shall we continue?"

"We both know _you_ shall." The teen forced his gaze hotly to the floor, a tendril of steam curling from his nostril. Luckily the man's back was to him, preventing him from noticing. He could do it now, he was sure of it. Given the command his body would respond and leap into action. _He had only to choose the fitting moment…_

The guard was completely unaware of his prisoner's recovery, fully pacified in the belief that the boy still couldn't lift a finger. In an exaggerated gesture, he brought one of his own thick digits up to tap his chin, his gruff profile visible to the teen. "Oh. It almost slipped my mind-"

"An amazing feat, that…"

"…You have an uncle, yes?"

It took everything Zuko had not to leap up and demand to know precisely where this man, this _peasant_ was going with this.

"General Iroh, correct? Also known as the Dragon of the West?" He watched the emotions play across the teen's face, not really expecting a response. "Well, I sure hope so…" he drawled. "After all, he did come through here this morning. Looking for a missing nephew, he was. It seems a certain 'complicated young man' had left his company a few days prior to pursue a lead on the Avatar."

Zuko paled in spite of himself. His uncle had been _here_?

_No, that was impossible. His uncle was still on the ship. He'd said he'd wait at the harbor. He'd given his word._

_But if that was true, how did this man know such things?_

"Don't believe me?"

"What reason would I have to?"

"None, I guess. You're the rather distrustful type, aren't you?"

"I see no one present who's worthy of my trust."

"As you like. I can't make you believe what you wish not to. You've made that clear already. It's a shame, though… He was a jovial man, your uncle. Had some sort of affinity for tea…" the guard paused to watch the muscles in the boy's jaw twitch as he clenched his teeth, amber eyes widening with a tint of fear.

_Time to play the trump card…_

"A shame really, when one's fancy can so easily be turned into one's…downfall. Of course my good friend Shi-lin happens to be rather well-known for his knowledge of local poisons. Especially the tasteless, odorless ones which are so easily slipped into a guest's drink…"

With a snarl of pure rage, Zuko lunged forward in a literal blaze of fury, quite efficiently startling the unsuspecting guard as he was downed within seconds. Two seconds, as a matter of fact. But the teen capitulated no time in regarding this as he was quite frankly, not paying attention. The only thing that he saw at that moment was the body of the man crumple to the floor, felled by a punching, kicking collage of pure hatred.

"You better _pray_ that you were lying. And you better _hop_e that I believe you when you tell me you've never seen my uncle before. And you better _beg_ that I forgive you for using his name in such a lie, " he panted, a fiery palm hovering inches from the man's broken nose. The man just blinked up at him for a moment, the shock of the boy's ability to move still playing across his bloodied face.

"Answer me!"

The door to the room burst open then, and no less than fifteen guards rushed in, forming a hostile semi-circle around the firebender. He lifted his gaze from the prone form at his feet to regard them spitefully.

"Where is he?" he demanded of them, scanning the menacing faces of the advancing figures. "Where is my uncle?" He dodged a spear that would have hollowed out his chest cavity and kicked high, a flaming arc tearing from his leg and slicing through the throng of guards. He pivoted swiftly on his heels, letting a fluid stream of flames pour from his fingers, encompassing every direction in the maneuver. Having stunned most of them thus, he used the nearest man's head as leverage to vault over the rest and into the hallway.

He took off at a dead run down the passageway, retracing the steps his former captor had taken while dragging him to the interrogation chamber. He turned a sharp corner and ran until he faced a large window he had spotted earlier, overlooking the balcony of a lower level, and the gardens that stretched out beyond and beneath that. With any luck there'd be a nearby tree or maybe a palpable patch of greenery that would provide a non-deadly landing.

Without slowing he dashed towards the window, bringing his arms up to protect his face from the scattering shards as he pitched through the glass. He could see close to nothing in the all-encompassing darkness that swallowed him as he fell.

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Ok, for some reason this story is coming out rather differently than I anticipated. It's still going in the right direction, I suppose, but the means of getting there has come out _altered_ to some extent.

And I'm not sure I'm really happy with it. The way it's written is starting to frustrate me.

Hm.

I might revamp the whole thing later, or I might not. But either way I won't discontinue it; I just hope you still like it at this point.

A big thanks to my reviewers of all chapters, and annonymous readers...

:points:

I know you're there! I'm still getting hits on these dismal chapters:P

Muahahah!

Ok, I'm going back to bed...


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **Be forewarned, this one is especially confusing near the end. It's a dream, a nightmare actually, that the boys are sharing. So I'm tryng to write it in accordance with how my own nightmaresoften are: scary,depressing, and utterly frustrating. They only become remotely funny once you begin to realize that they don't even make sense and lackall forms oflinear structure.

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**Disclaimer: **Not mine, not mine...

:sobs:

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**A Nightmare's Armistice: **By KaleidoscopeKitten

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**Chapter 8**

_Take your life in your own hands, _

_and what happens? _

_A terrible thing: _

_no one to blame. _

_Erica Jong_

Zuko stepped over another sage bush, painstakingly tiptoeing around the coverlet of dry, cracking leaves and flower petals that littered the moss carpeting. For the first time in the past day and a half he could actually decipher an array of colors sprouting up as the plant life, each fern and blossom seemingly planted in a pre-designed pattern of checkers, circles and pinwheels.

The moon hung low in the sky, as if stooping to get a closer look at his progression through the garden. Her normally pensive silver gaze held a foreign crimson tint, as though a recent grievance had taken place, the orb swollen and ill-boding to behold. But the wind was cool and light, and no clouds lingered to take the blame for scratching their way in front of the radiant sphere this night.

With a hushed sigh the teen let himself collapse at last upon the gritty surface of a small bench. He lay on his back, legs dangling over the edge and peering up at the night sky, subconsciously bringing a hand up to stroke his forehead. The scent of the surrounding flowers was nothing short of intoxicating, the smell assuredly pleasant, but also dizzying in its potency. He fought the urge to let his eyes slip shut, even momentarily, for fear of not being able to open them once more.

_He had to find the Avatar…_

Something glittered suddenly from the corner of his eye, catching his attention at once. Curious, he rolled off the bench, eyes scanning the well-groomed shrubbery as he got to his hands and knees. _Where was it? _Something had definitely caught the moonlight for a second, reflecting a metallic sheen in the darkness. He felt around with his hands, palms running over the feather-soft grass, searching for something that was out of place among the flowers.

All of a sudden he felt it, fingertips slipping across the cool surface in brief contact. Peering down where his hand rested he spotted something dark and solid, crushing the grass in a curious oval.

With a puzzled frown he picked it up, lifting it up to the moonlight, fingers blindly exploring the lines and contours. There was something oddly familiar about them…

_It couldn't be!_

Caught in the illumination of a moonbeam, the object was suddenly vibrant. A sapphire pallet looking angrily up at him to meet his surprised stare defiantly, as if it had more of a right to lay there then he did.

It was a mask.

His mask.

The gruffly sculpted oni's face made of the metallic alloy he had always found both frightening and fascinating. Smooth yet strong. A concoction of deception, of hidden values and interests.

A secret relic, no, more than that: a secret _identity_. The monstrous face that had captivated him the moment he had laid eyes on it all those years ago…

---------

_Ursa felt the tug of his abrupt stop and looked down at the boy clutching her hand. He didn't seem to notice her as she called out to him questioningly. He didn't seem to notice anything, in fact, save the object lying on the stand in front of him. _

"_What is it, Zuko?"_

_She peered over his head to catch a glimpse of what had captivated his attention so completely. With a small frown she took in the frightening face of the mask, a nasty expression contorting its metallic features. It was both ghastly and…beautiful, a mesmerizing mixture, unique in its own right. She placed a hand gently on her son's back, urging him to move on, away from the stand. _

"_Come, Zuko."_

_She hoped it didn't give him nightmares…_

"_Mom?"_

_At last he broke eye contact with the mask to glance up at her. He gestured with a small hand toward the metallic craft. "Mom, can I get that?"_

_It took her a little by surprise, and she could feel her curiosity mounting._

"_Why, Zuko? It's…frightening."_

"_I know. But I still like it. It's…neat." His large amber eyes were fixed upon her now, pleading. She almost chuckled at the immense desire she saw in his young gaze._

_Well, if it was what he really wanted…_

_Who was she kidding? He practically leapt with joy as she nodded at the vendor to wrap it up for her son. She felt her lips melt into a smile as he grinned toothily up at her._

"_Thanks, Mom! It's something really special, I just know it!"_

_He couldn't wait to get home and rip off the wrappings to hold it in his hands. It was a special mask. His secret. He vowed never to show it to anyone else, never reveal that it belonged to him. It was him. The secret him that only he knew existed. He and his mother._

_---------_

It peered darkly up at him, its gaze made all the more mysterious by the sense of comfort it suddenly brought him, nestled familiarly in his outstretched hands. He couldn't put into words the sudden invulnerability he felt, the mounting courage that surged through him as he brought the mask wordlessly to his face.

He secured the straps around the back of his head, slipping his hair from its ponytail as he did so. It was all right, he didn't need it anymore. It no longer meant anything.

_He was someone else now…_

He gazed up at the moon, following the basking glow of her vision to the fortress that towered beside him. His hidden eyes scanned the silken curves of the structure, took in the height of the windows, the length of the outside archways, the newly formed blockade at the main entrance.

There was no easy way to enter the glamorous citadel, and no telling where, and _if_ the Avatar resided within it's walls. He'd have to play at reconnaissance first. Something he found quite enjoyable.

Wherever the Avatar had been taken, there would be someone, somewhere left behind to speak of it. He just had to locate that lucky source of information.

Deftly he made his way towards the outer wall, planning on breaching the barrier and beginning his mission on the other side, the inner segment that formed the commoners' market and dwelling place, cradled within the outer perimeter, clinging to the walls of the inner fortress. It had been deserted earlier, something which he hoped would remain unchanged.

He paused at the base of the towering wall briefly to discard his armor that so blatantly screamed fire nation. He hid the heavy articles of clothing in the exotic brush that sprouted at his feet. With a few strategically placed branches and some dead leaves he had buried his former identity.

With a final scrutiny of the structure he was about to scale, he placed a slim hand against the chill of the stone, his pallor and clothes now making little contrast. The only thing visible about him now was the monstrous mask that allowed him the utmost freedom in its obscurity of his own face. He glanced up, fingering the length of rope that had been tucked beneath his brazen counterpart's armor. With a silent grace only he possessed, he swung it adroitly over the wall, waiting for the loop on the end to catch hold of something on the other side.

With a sharp tug he tested the dependability of the line before beginning to pull himself up, no longer as Zuko, but rather his unvoiced, masterfully astute counterpart:

The Blue Spirit.

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"What is this place?"

Although he could see very well _precisely_ where he was, and this was by no means an unfamiliar setting, he maintained that it was, in fact, a very necessary question.

_This was simply impossible…_

_Wasn't it?_

_There was absolutely no way this made the least bit of sense, or could even be taking place!_

Yet it was.

And with eyes widened to within the brink of their physical limitations he took it all in, mouth agape and heartbeat quickening.

"Recognize it?" The guard sneered, his homely face blocking the airbender's line of vision momentarily, leaning over, perhaps in the hopes of inducing more fear.

It didn't.

The young monk was speechless, distracted to an extent that was beyond mimic. He _had_ heard what the man had said, though. As a matter of fact the question was swimming about in his skull at that very moment, repeating, screaming over and over.

_Of course he recognized this place._

_Even having been frozen solid, a human pop-sickle for a hundred years couldn't taint his recollection of this place. Couldn't erase this tantalizing picture of childish security. Couldn't sever the connection he had with it._

_How could he forget?_

_He had spent his childhood here…_

Aang took in everything, every hauntingly vacant corner, every crumbling stone, every age worn turret. He let his slate-hued eyes roam over everything he had taken for granted all those years ago. Everything he had abandoned on a selfish, immature whim.

And it seemed like it was only yesterday…yesterday when he had last set foot on that dusty column. It was yesterday at lunch time that he sat on that banister and smiled sullenly as Gyatso performed another comical feat in hopes of cheering him up. It was yesterday morning that he had woken up, wide-eyed and whimsical, innocent of the impending events that would serve to devastate him a century later, that would render his home the bleak, empty jail it was now.

He could no longer quell the sobs that consumed him from within, and he choked as the hot tears spilled down his cheeks, dripping onto the ancient stone beneath him, mingling with the dusted coating of many silent years.

_Why had they brought him here?_

_How had they gotten here?_

He turned his head to the side, noting numbly that he could feel his neck again. He looked past the guards who hovered over him faces unforgiving in the sudden haze that encased them. He scanned the heavy fog for the large doors that he had just been carried through before getting thrust roughly to the floor.

But he already knew before searching that they wouldn't be there.

_Maybe they never had been._

"Stand him up."

Aang felt calloused hands wrenching him from the ground. He was held out at an arm's length, boots dangling at least a foot above the ground, face to face with the man who had lugged him around earlier. It was a hard, weathered face, marred with the lines of years of shrewdness. Apparently disgusted with what he saw in the boy's tearful face, he spat vulgarly to the side.

"Despicable…" he said, of the young monk who hung listlessly from the other man's grasp. "Believe me when I say this pales in comparison to what you really deserve."

A curt nod and the airbender was released, falling to the ground in a non-responsive heap.

_No, no…this couldn't be happening…_

_He had to get out of here. Had to…find Zuko._

Aang recalled the sight of the other guard dragging the near lifeless body of the firebender from the prison cell, tugging him unkindly out of the Avatar's vision.

_What if he was being tortured?_

_What if they really would give a teenager the death penalty?_

The look in the man's eyes as he leaned over to slice through the boy's bonds told him they would.

Told him that that too, was his fault. The firebending teen would be treated badly based on his lineage. Would be tried for crimes a mere boy could not truly be guilty of. Would be punished for his unlucky association with the Avatar.

Aang tasted salt and swallowed the stream of tears, knowing that his arms were free, that he could feel his legs, that he could stand if he tried. But he didn't. Nor did he wish to.

He didn't know what this place was. What was real and what was illusion. He couldn't figure anything out anymore, and had no idea what was going on.

But he did know this:

He wanted it to stop. He didn't care how, he wanted it to end. Here and now. On the very stones that he knelt upon. It was fitting after all. Perfectly ironic ending up in the very place where everything, everything that had altered his life so much, had begun.

"Stand up."

For a brief second the airbender imagined he saw Zuko standing there, scowling down at him, arms crossed. For a chipped moment in time, he looked up and the fog was gone, the air temple having momentarily vanished. The firebender was unharmed, regarding him in his usual fashion, a stance that brought an instant dryness to the monk's eyes. The sky appeared in a deep, vibrant red, and the plumes of smoke wafted to his nose.

A sniffle in the distance caught his attention and he noticed her at once. A little girl crouched a ways behind the firebender, emerald eyes enormous as she regarded him in distress.

"Stop crying and get up!" someone yelled. A strong grip on his arm yanked him to his feet. He looked up into an angry face.

_Was it Zuko's?_

It was hidden in severe shadows.

_Of course it was Zuko, it had to be._

_And he was alright…_

Aang glanced down to smile at the little girl. She had looked so sad. But she didn't have to worry, because it was going to be ok now. Zuko was back, and they'd find a way out of there. Away from the smoke and burnt sky, crisp trees, crumbling buildings. _Away from the heat…_

Aang gasped, shivering bodily.

_It wasn't hot. Not at all, in fact it was downright chilly…_

Whipping his head up he saw no crimson sky or harsh clouds. The ground was no longer packed dirt, and there were no broken buildings in the distance.

Aang could feel his heart sinking as he found himself staring at the ancient stone that now lay in the spot where the little girl had been kneeling.

A dry sob racked his body and he would have sunk seemingly boneless to the ground, had it not been for the tight grip on his collar.

The airbender could see, although he wished with all his being that he couldn't, that the arm which grasped him belonged not to a teenaged firebender, but the brute guard that shoved him forward to collapse on cold stone.

"Enjoy your stay, Avatar. For you shall remain here, unable to leave, forbidden to ever forget the wrong you have done."

The shivering boy didn't bother turning to watch the two guards vanish into the heavy fog that had rolled back in to curl beneath him, cold and unwelcoming. He didn't care if they stayed or left. Or whether or not he could leave.

He just didn't care anymore.

----------------------------------


	10. Author's Note

**Author's Note:** Well, guys, I'm off to Boot camp…(insert look of impending doom and a lot of stomach butterflies here).

Unfortunately, my recruiter called me last night to tell me I'd be leaving for San Jose this morning, a day and a half ahead of what I had anticipated.

I had hoped to leave you all with a double-length chapter before I left for nine weeks, but regrettably I have nothing more to show for the weekend other than a pathetic beginning to the ninth chapter, less than a thousand words long. And it doesn't even make much sense (not that the rest of the story does, but I mean this was a really, really confusing little mish-mash pretending it was worthy of calling itself a story).

And, bypassing any well-meaning lies…it simply disgusted me. Horribly written, clipped diction, jumpy plot.

Bleh.

So, I'm not going to contaminate your minds by posting it.

:eyes the random sharp objects pointed in her direction and shifts nervously from one foot to the other:

…. Please don't hurt me?

I feel really, really bad for doing this. I hope you guys don't hate me forever now…

I promise to return to all this once I complete my basic training. Heck, by the time I get back I might have my own computer!

:claps her hands:

Then I can update whenever I want, and not have to hop on my mom's computer during meals or when she's reading or out shopping, for that is one of the reasons I am shipping my mopey butt off to the military in the first place.

But sadly, until then…I must bid you all ado.

For those of you who are dying to know what happens, however, I will provide a short synopsis following this explanation. Of course I won't tell you exactly how its going to end, but I will make an effort to describe what's coming up and when it's going down.

**So, read on only if you want to read a thorough outline of the following chapters!**

A Nightmare's Armistice Synopsis (divided by chapter)

**ch.9: **Aang is wandering around in his prison. He discovers he cannot leave, or do anything about the approaching comet…. Meanwhile, Zuko is looking for a way to rescue Aang when he comes across a little girl rummaging through some trash in an alleyway of the inner city. He recognizes her as the little girl from his earlier dream (not realizing that everything is in fact a part of the same nightmare). They talk, and she says she recognizes him. He is confused and asks how she knows him. She reveals that he is a legendary figure kind of like a "robin hood" in those parts. She tells him how to find Aang. As Zuko leaves, she bends over and picks up something, handing him the teacup (which was mentioned as his uncle having given him in chapter 1), and although he distinctly recalls having left it with his armor, he assumes he must have been imagining things and just dropped it without noticing. He looks at it for a bit, then gives it to her. She is extremely happy as he leaves (Note: this is the teacup she's cradling in chapter two. Remember how she said someone special gave it to her?).

Back to Aang. He watches as the air grows hot and the sky darkens. He almost gives in to despair when Zuko arrives (without the mask, he is now wearing his regular armor). He tells Aang they have to leave, but Aang says he cant. Zuko reveals that there is no barrier on the city, the only thing holding Aang back is himself.

**ch.10: **The boys arrive at the place of the initial nightmare. They watch, unable to do anything as everything is destroyed. Eventually they come across the little girl, and although she is wary of Zuko at first, (not realizing that he was the Blue Spirit) Aang assures her he can be trusted. They find out he looks like the one destroying everything, because it turns out to be Ozai. They both agree that what is happening is for the worse, although Zuko believes he has no place to question his father. In this fashion, Aang learns of Zuko's insecurity and attempts to return the favor of boosting his rival's confidence. The world begins to shake and split and they have no option except to move ahead in search of Ozai, and try to figure out what their purpose for being there is.

**ch.11**: At last they reach the outer boundaries of a large fire-nation fortress. The earth is almost completely destroyed by this time. The little girl (who had accompanied them to this point) begins to cough up blood, her condition declining quickly, even though she has no visible wounds. As she worsens, they learn that she is one of the few remaining survivors of the natives of the pure white citadel they previously escaped. She tells them that, like her, they are there for a purpose, although there is little hope left. She tells them both that they are capable of beating the terror, although she doesn't know how. She says that she has done what she was supposed to do, and that they have to leave her behind.

They enter the fire nation fortress, sneaking past guards, looking for Ozai, or anything that can better help them understand the situation. They end up in a large room which is identical to the one in which Zuko dueled (or rather, refused to duel) his father.

**ch.12**: Here they are forced to split, Zuko left to face his father, and Aang racing to find a way to stop the comet that threatens to crash into the world, rather than just pass by it.

And…I'm not gonna tell you anymore ;P

But a few things you can expect from this point on:

The boys are forced to take a real good look at their lives in retrospect.

They meet "Gaia", and find out that she was the one who gave them this dream, seeing what an immense impact they would have on the world in times to come.

The little girl gets a name! And she's ok… (hmm, maybe I'll do a oneshot some day where they meet her in real life)

They find out everything was a dream eventually (with the exception of the beginning of chapter 1 until the conclusion of the scene on Zuko's ship in that chapter)

They both conclude that this whole scenario changes absolutely nothing (I.e. Aang will still try to lift the fire nation's rule, and Zuko wil still try to capture him)

Aang and Zuko are reunited with their respective companions, both in their dream, and then when they wake up.

And…egad! I hope it turns out better than it sounds… O-o

Well, goodbye you guys, and thank you so much for all of your kind reviews! It is because of your guys' support that I don't just end this thing for good.

Oh, and don't forget to peak at the drabbles I posted the past few days (if you want to). They're all little rambles which I wrote anywhere from the last probably seven months to the present, and have typed up and posted simply because they take only from two to ten minutes a piece (although they'd perhaps take longer if I actually took the time to proofread them correctly :blushes ashamedly:...and were easily done while I consumed breakfast and dinner).


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